Cranbrook School head calls for comprehensive school to reopen
David Clark says increased house building means reopening the school is needed to ease pressure on places
The head teacher of a sought-after state boarding grammar school has called for a non-selective comprehensive to be re-opened nearby to ease pressure caused by rapid growth.
Cranbrook School boss David Clark says a replacement to the failing High Weald Academy, which shut nearly two years ago, is necessary to service the house-building happening locally.
His school has a capacity of 940, of which 240 are fee-paying boarders but who are educated for free.
Mr Clark, who formerly worked at an independent school, said:
"We are campaigning hard here in Cranbrook for this extra secondary school.
"We are supporting the parish council as robustly as we possibly can to reopen a non-selective secondary school to support the Cranbrook community."
The loss of High Weald has resulted in young children having to spend time on buses and missing out on extra-curricular activities.
Mr Clark said a "colossal" amount of money – reportedly more than £10m – had been spent on High Weald before its eventual closure.
He added: "If closing the school is the right thing to do, fine, but don’t spend money on it. That is what has really upset people, especially when they keep being told there is no money.
"Of course people are angry – these are their taxes being squandered."
Mr Clark said there is a willingness to work with Kent County Council (KCC) to "make decisions together".
He added: "We will work with anyone who wants to invest in education in Cranbrook and we want to see an empowered KCC facilitate that.
"I am not underplaying the complexities of managing education in Kent but I would like to see closer partnership between schools and KCC and more decision-making locally."
He added: "The other frustration is house building- there’s an awful lot of house building in this area. I don’t know about it being too much (building) but the fact is these are family homes being built. Where are the children of these families going to be educated?
"We’re not asking for a new school, we’re asking for a school that’s already there. That is within the realms of possibility. The building is there, parking is there and the infrastructure is there – just reopen it at a fraction of the cost. That’s what we’re asking for."
Chairman of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council Kim Fletcher said the community has become isolated with no secondary schools within a 10 mile radius in any direction.
He suggested there is space at the old High Weald site, now run by the Leigh Academies Trust, for another school, possibly Mascalls Academy, to run a satellite there.
Mr Fletcher said that Cranbrook, Hawkhurst, Staplehurst and Biddenden (which fall into the Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Ashford boroughs) have collectively absorbed 1,000 new homes in the past three years, creating demand for school places.
He added: "We need a bit of honesty from KCC and a rigorous discussion with the Department for Education (DfE).
"KCC said there is not enough demand for it (a new school). It doesn’t make sense."
KCC cabinet member for education Cllr Rory Love said the closure was driven by a falling roll – only 276 pupils in a 900 capacity. It was a DfE decision, not KCC, he added.
Cllr Love added: "We do not, ourselves, intend to seek to establish a new school to replace High Weald Academy, but other routes do exist to establishing new schools through the DfE.
"KCC continually reviews the need for school places to ensure sufficient provision in both the short and long term, working with borough councils as they develop their housing plans.
"There is currently no forecast need for the re-establishment of a non-selective secondary within Cranbrook in order to ensure a sufficient number of school places are available. ”