The Governing Bodies of both Shaw House School and The Turnpike School have asked West Berkshire Council as the Local Education Authority (LEA) to join with them in taking the steps necessary for the amalgamation of the two schools onto one site to form a new combined school with a sixth form.

The Governing Bodies and the LEA have agreed that all interested parties should be consulted about this proposal. This will include the parents of present pupils and those with pupils in the feeder primary schools, the pupils themselves, the staff and a number of other interested parties who might be affected.

The Governing Bodies and staff of The Turnpike and Shaw House Schools want to provide the best possible education for young people and families in North Newbury and West Thatcham. They have come to the view that this can only be done through positive and major changes to the present local arrangements for secondary education, under which two small 11 - 16 secondary schools compete for pupils from the area. For this reason they have jointly been developing these proposals for such change, in consultation with officers of the Funding Agency for Schools (FAS) and the LEA

Consultation

The consultation arrangements will allow all those linked with the schools and any others likely to be affected by the proposals to give their views and make comments. This joint consultation document presents and summarises the main issues involved.

Further detail is available from the report of the Corporate Director (Education) to the West Berkshire Council's Education Committee at its meeting of 27th April 1998.

This paper, which sets out the reasons for and the implications of the proposals, is being distributed as widely as possible to all those who might have an interest. Separate meetings have been arranged with staff of both the schools and meetings for parents and other interested parties will be held on Wednesday, 20tb May at 7.00pm at The Turnpike School and on Thursday, 21st. May at 7.00pm at Shaw House School. A questionnaire is at the end of this document which you can use to send in your views on the proposals by Friday 19tb June.

A joint report will be made to the LEAs Education Committee when it meets on 2nd July, 1998 and to the two Governing Bodies, summarising the views expressed at the meetings and the analysis of the response sheets. The Education Committee and the Governors, taking account of the views expressed during the consultation, will decide whether to pursue the proposal to create a new 11-18 school by following the legal procedures laid down in the 1996 Education Act.

If it is agreed to proceed, the LEA will publish notices to close Shaw House School and to open a new school on whichever site is decided. The Governors of The Turnpike School will simultaneously publish notices to close that school. There will then be a two month period to allow time for objections. If the proposal goes ahead, it is planned that the new school will open on 1 September 1999.

Background the present situation

Both schools share values and commitment to the educational development of each individual pupil, working to help them achieve the most from their school career. However, both are small schools and their low pupil numbers mean that they simply do not generate enough resources to continue to offer the range of curriculum and extra-curricular activities to which pupils are entitled. The Governing Bodies of both schools regard this as unacceptable.

They believe that their low numbers are partly due to demography and location, but largely due to the attractiveness of other local schools which are able to provide a continuum of education from 1 1-18 through their 6th Forms. They recognise that, because of their small sizes, neither of the schools is likely to be successful in their separate requests to be allowed to open a 6th Form. For this reason both Governing Bodies believe that change therefore is vital.

The Joint Proposals

For the reason outlined in the previous paragraph these proposals are promoted by the Governing Bodies of Shaw House and The Turnpike Schools and have been drawn up with the support of the LEA, the FAS and the senior staff of both schools. They set out an outline strategy for the establishment of one new 1 I- 18 mixed comprehensive school for North Newbury and West Thatcham.
 

It is therefore proposed that Shaw House and The Turnpike Schools close on August 31st 1999 and that the new school opens on September 1st 1999.

Location of the new School

The probable requirements of the new Local Plan for West Berkshire, the additional costs of purchase and the extended time scale likely to be involved mean that a completely new site is neither easily identifiable nor practicable. Therefore, the new school will need to be located on one of the two existing sites.

The following criteria have been considered in evaluating the suitability of the two sites:
 

• access for pupils and parents;
• future demographic trends;
• capacity and quality of existing buildings;
• likelihood of sufficient financial return to fund the project.

Access

It is considered that the closeness of the two schools and the inevitable overlapping of traditional catchment areas means that either site could meet the needs of the local community. It is recognised that the primary schools feeding Shaw House are larger and closer to the school than the primary schools feeding The Turnpike School. Highways improvements would be required to improve access to either site, as would transitional arrangements, such as a school bus service, to help pupils travel to and from school.

 
Future Demographic Trends

The present combined numbers of The Turnpike and Shaw House Schools already show that one 11-18 school is viable, drawing on the designated admission areas of both.

Pupil number forecasts, based on recent past trends, known numbers of pupils in primary schools, birth rates and known housing developments with planning permission such as Dunston Park in Thatcham, suggest that the 11-16 pupil total for the Newbury/Thatcham area will increase by about 242 pupils to a peak in 2001 before beginning to tail off again. Such forecasts are more reliable across a wider area covered by several schools and are not intended for use on a school-by-school basis.

In addition, there is a proposed housing development at Sandleford Park to the south of Newbury. If this comes to fruition, it can be expected to provide about a further 270 secondary aged pupils. This will increase pressure on schools in South Newbury (Park House and St. Bartholomew's) and parents from Thatcham and North Newbury will be less likely to gain places for their children at one of those schools.

Given that other local schools will have only limited scope for accommodating additional pupils, it is considered that this growth reinforces the case for a new school of at least 6 forms of entry and a 6th Form of at least 160 and the accommodation plans will need to take this into account. it is also anticipated that, once established, the new school may have to be further expanded and the building plans will have to take this possibility into account.

Capacity and Quality of Existing Buildings

Capacity at The Turnpike School is currently 500 pupils (376 on roll) and the Gaywood Drive site is compact, comprising 5.39 hectares. About 2 hectares of this is taken up by the school buildings which are mainly single storey and flat roofed. The construction is steel framed, in-filled. The school was opened in 1964 and additional buildings added in the 1970s.

There is a capacity of around 600 pupils at Shaw House School (currently 447 on roll), without including the significant number of temporary buildings. The Church Road/Love Lane site comprises 9.25 hectares, including several playing field areas. About 3 hectares of this is taken up by the large Grade 1 listed mansion and the school buildings, which are mainly two storey and of traditional red brick, pitched-roof construction. The school was opened in 1964.

Neither site could accommodate all the pupils from the two schools without some additional permanent buildings. Due to the development time involved in any such major building project, some temporary accommodation or other arrangements are likely to be required for a short period.

 
 
A school of the proposed size would need 5 hectares of playing field, in accordance with The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1996. The Gaywood Drive site has 3.5 hectares, including the sports hall building. The Church Road/Love Lane site has 3.6 hectares of detached fields to the north of Love Lane and an all-weather pitch of 0.85 hectares, not including the separate sports hall. An all-weather pitch can count as double its area for the purposes of the Regulations, which gives the Church Road/Love Lane site a figure of 5.3 of formal playing fields.

Likelihood of Financial Return

The likelihood of enough financial return from either site to fund the necessary additional buildings is dependent on the granting of planning permission for some type of development. It is considered that there would be significant planning constraints on the Church Road/Love Lane site for any development other than for its present educational use. Therefore, it is considered that the Gaywood Drive site is more likely to be able to generate the finance needed to make these proposals successful. Clearly further work on the details of this is needed and this work is being progressed in parallel with this consultation exercise.

However, having taken all the factors above into account, the Governing Bodies of the two Schools have jointly concluded from the evidence presently available that their preferred site for the establishment of the new school is at Church Road/Love Lane.

Reasons for proposing that the new School has a 6th Form

At present the two schools provide secondary education for pupils 11 - 16 (Years 7-1 1). Pupils who then wish to continue with post-16 education have to transfer to Kennet, Park House or St. Bartholomew's Schools or to Newbury College. By providing post-16 education at the new School, the Governors and the LEA see the following advantages over the present situation

• Continuity of education from age 11 to 18 would be available offering stability for individual pupils and avoiding a transfer at 16 which can be disruptive to progress and can deter pupils from staying on in further education. At both schools, a lower proportion of pupils move on into post-16 education compared with the West Berkshire average.
• At age 16 young people would have a wider choice of post 16 provision than that currently available, on the basis of location and the specialisms to be developed by the new school.
• Post 16 provision would be maintained in North Newbury after the move of Newbury College of Further Education to its new site in the south of the town.
• The academic and pastoral benefits offered by the school would be available to a wider age range.
• The resources required for a 6th Form in terms of staff expertise, equipment and accommodation would also have benefits for Years 7-11 in the school.
• Years 12 and 13 would serve as beneficial role models both socially and academically for younger pupils in the school.

Financial Implications of the Proposal

It is intended that the costs of refurbishment and new buildings for the new school will be financed from the sale of one of the two present sites. With only one site to maintain, the capital and revenue resources which would otherwise have met the maintenance costs of the other site could be invested more valuably in other ways. Similarly, one larger school would not have such a high proportion of its budget tied up in supporting the costs of the management and curriculum infrastructure as the two small schools currently do and these freed up funds would be redeployed to benefit all local pupils more directly with extra resources. Both schools have a significant number of surplus places, resulting in inefficient use of their budgets. The removal of these places through this proposal would allow the financing of in-school initiatives to help to improve pupil performance and raise standards in the new school.

One-off personnel costs associated with the transition to the new school will need to be met by the relevant employing authority.

Benefits for the Community
 

Parents and Pupils

 
Parents and pupils will benefit from the additional choice of an academically successful school with a full and exciting range of extra-curricular activities on offer. Economies of scale will enable the new larger school to invest significantly in strategies to improve pupils' performance. Pupils will have access to post 16 courses on-site, offering continuity and progression from GCSE to A Level and GNVQ courses. Pupils will benefit from the range and the quality of the new facilities available, which will also be available for community use.

The proposals can be implemented relatively swiftly, with minimum disruption to the education of pupils currently on roll in either school, since they have the full support of both Governing Bodies and senior staff who will work closely together. The first priority during the period of change will be to maintain stability for pupils, particularly those on examination courses. Some additional funding to support change may be necessary, so as to ensure that the continuity of teaching is maintained. As implementation progresses all pupils will benefit from the increased range of opportunities and improved facilities.

Staff and Governors

 
Once the proposal has been given the go-ahead, a shadow Governing Body will set up by the LEA, which will draw its members equally from the two present groups of Governors. This temporary Governing Body would have to advertise nationally for a Headteacher and then advertise nationally for deputy Headteachers. Once the new Headteacher and Governors had agreed the staffing structure for the new school then the available posts would be advertised internally. Existing staff from the two schools will be given priority consideration for these Posts. During the transition period, continuity for pupils will be supported by maintaining appropriate staffing levels. Where necessary appropriate support from the LEA will be put in place to ensure the voluntary redeployment of all existing staff to the new school or elsewhere as far as possible, or for those who wish to retire early. This will follow the practice of the former Berkshire LEA in due course, there is little doubt that the professional development opportunities and promotion prospects of staff will be improved by the establishment of a successful new school.

Local Taxpayers

 
Local taxpayers will benefit from the LEA's ability, in due course, to redirect funding freed up by these proposals into teaching and learning resources for all local pupils, thus preventing the need to find this in other ways, such as through the Council Tax. Furthermore, the new school will make a positive and successful contribution to the National Targets for Education and Training and the targets to be set out in the Education Development Plan, thus allowing resources for school support to be focused elsewhere in the local community.

The Joint Conclusion of the two Governing Bodies and the LEA

The Governing Bodies and senior staff of both The Turnpike and Shaw House Schools have developed these proposals, which involve the closure of both schools, only after very serious consideration of the alternatives. They take great pride in their Schools and face the future with a real sense of regret, mixed with the excitement of a new challenge. They hope these feelings will be shared by parents, pupils, staff and the local community.

The Governors are convinced that change for the better is necessary and will be achieved positively through continuing their present partnership approach with the support of the LEA and the FAS. They are all committed to the joint development of a successful new school so as to provide the best quality 11-18 education for local young people. They and the LEA feel strongly that these proposals are the best way to achieve this.

Copies of the Corporate Director (Education)'s report to the 27 April meeting of the West Berkshire Education Committee, referred to in this document, can be obtained from the following address, to which other enquiries or questions can be addressed:

 
Strategy & Research Manager
West Berkshire Council - Education
Avonbank House
West Street
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 IBZ

 
Tel: (01635) 519727
Fax: (01635) 519725

E-mail: ADitchburn@westberks.gov.uk