Hull City Council is seeking permission to enter into formal consultation on plans to increase the number of secondary school places in the city.
It is projected that over the next four years there will be an increase in the number of pupils entering secondary schools in Hull, with most of the demand being in the west and the north of the city.
To ensure the city can provide the required school places, the council is seeking Cabinet approval to move to consultation with secondary education providers, the Hull Learning Partnership and the Regional Schools Commissioner to develop proposals for increasing capacity. All parents and carers at the relevant schools will also be consulted.
Councillor Peter Clark, Portfolio Holder for learning, skills and safeguarding children said: “We must ensure we can accommodate the rising numbers of children needing school places. We also want to ensure that as many children as possible have access to their preferred schools, and that we continue to provide the best education possible in the best learning environments possible.
“Entering into consultation is the first stage of developing proposals to ensure the city’s schools have sufficient places to meet demand.”
If the proposal to move to formal consultation is approved by Cabinet on Monday 21 December, the Academy Trusts for the relevant schools will then commence their consultation processes for the following proposals:
- Boulevard Academy: expansion from 660 to 900 places from September 2021
- Malet Lambert School: expansion from 1,600 to 1,750 places from September 2021
- Sirius Academy North: expansion from 1,250 to 1,400 places from September 2021
- Hull Trinity House Academy: relocation to the former Endeavour High School site, creating 600 additional secondary places
The former Endeavour site was purpose built as a secondary school and would allow Hull Trinity House to double their intake of pupils.
The Hull Trinity House site was originally designed for post-16 education and so is being explored and considered as an appropriate site for Hull Training and Adult Education (HTAE) and the authority’s Learning and Development team, which currently operates from the former Endeavour site. Staff and users of the current Endeavour site will be fully consulted regarding the proposals before any final decisions are made.
As all of the secondary settings are academies, the Regional Schools Commissioner will be the final decision maker on proposals. In the case of the Boulevard Academy the scheme requires approval from the Department for Education.
St Mary’s extension provides an additional 300 pupil places
In 2019, Cabinet approved several schemes as part of a £19.84m investment by the council, under the citywide Schools Capital Programme.
The following schemes have all contributed to increasing the number of school places:
- St Mary’s College – a new classroom block. This scheme has been delivered and has created an additional 300 places
- Kelvin Hall School – a new classroom block, dining facilities and an Autistic Spectrum Condition resource base. This scheme has been delivered and has created an additional 250 places
- Broadacre Primary School – provision of a new build school, including provision of a SEND Resource Base
- This scheme has been approved by the Regional Schools Commissioner. The new school premises will be open for February 2022
- Kingswood Academy – a new classroom block and dining space. This scheme has been approved by the Regional Schools Commissioner
- Ings Primary – a new Autistic Spectrum Resource Base. This scheme is awaiting approval by the Regional Schools Commissioner
