What this consultation is about
We are consulting on the expansion of the Glossopdale School to provide an additional 240 pupil places to meet the demand from housing growth in Glossop.
In 2018, the new building at Glossopdale School was opened on the Hadfield site. The school was designed to accommodate 1,000 pupils in the age range 11 to 16 and 200 post-16 students. The core facilities (hall, sports hall and dining) were built to accommodate 1,440 pupils comprising 1,200 pupils 11 to 16 and 240 post-16 students to allow for expansion to meet the need created by housing growth in the area. The layout of the school has been designed to allow for an additional wing of teaching accommodation.
In planning the new school, there was a recognition that there was a large cohort of pupils moving from primary to secondary education at present and throughout the UK there is pressure on secondary places. Although the net capacity is specified, there is an element of flexibility taking the capacity up to 1,316 as the top of the range and this, together with the larger core facilities, has enabled the school to exceed its planned admission number of 200 over the past 2 years.
A chart showing the projections for the next 5 years is included in the document attached to this page. The projections do not take into account the housing planned and under construction in the area.
At present there are 660 dwellings with planning approval and a further 242 with pending applications. The High Peak Borough Council Local Plan identifies further sites with the potential to deliver an additional 273 dwellings over the next 5 years.
Not all new houses will necessarily generate additional pupils. In a worst case scenario, the total housing could generate up to 239 secondary pupils over the next 5 years. Historically a percentage of pupils have taken places at schools outside the town, but over recent years this number has reduced significantly.
Using the current percentage of 85% remaining in Glossop, the likely level of demand created by new housing could be up to 203 pupils by 2024. That number added to the projections would result in a peak beyond the revised net capacity of 1,440. However, using the flexibility referred to earlier, it would fall below the top of net capacity range.
On the basis of the information provided, we believe that there is a strong case to expand the school.
We are seeking the views of interested parties about the expansion and the provision of an additional 240 pupil places. Any decision to proceed with the expansion plans would be subject to statutory consultation, funding and planning permission for the new wing.
Outcome
Cabinet considered the outcome of this non-statutory consultation on 16 January 2020.
We will now proceed with a statutory consultation on the expansion of Glossopdale School. A copy of the Cabinet report is attached to this page.