Richmond and Kingston
 Kingston and Richmond Councils are in talks with education ministers on joint proposals to address secondary education provision in the north of the borough.
The plans centre on the redevelopment of Grey Court school into a joint-venture school to meet the needs of North Kingston and Ham children.
Joint proposal
"Local parents are rightly concerned about the effect that increased housing is having on school places in north Kingston. We are working with our colleagues in Richmond on a proposal to jointly develop Grey Court school in Ham," Cllr Derek Osbourne commented.
"Ministers have already expressed an interest in this approach, and it is our best chance of attracting government funding to achieve the quality we want for our children."
Serious consequences
However, Cllr Osbourne warned that Tory proposals put forward by Tory Cllr Dennis Doe and Zac Goldsmith for a new school in north Kingston would have serious consequences both for those pupils and for other schools in the borough:
"A new 1000 pupil school in north Kingston is not the answer. Even though there is a lot of new housing in the area, there still won't be enough students to fill a new school. Instead, it would have to take pupils from other Kingston schools.
"The last thing we want is for schools like Coombe Girls, Hollyfield and Southborough to lose students and funding while the new school would also be short of pupils. That would put the education of thousands of students at risk.
"The Tories are being deeply irresponsible and should stop playing politics with education in Kingston."
|
