Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
College unveils new free school plan for Chaucer site
Teacher-training secondary would be one of only a handful in the country ‘There will soon be a shortfall of secondary places in the city.... this is an exciting proposal for the pupils of Canterbury’
Canterbury Christ Church University has revealed plans to build a new secondary free school on the former Chaucer site.
It proposes a non-selective, catering for pupils aged between 11 and 18, which would be one of just a handful of university training schools in the country.
The ever-expanding university faces competition from Barton Court Grammar, which is also eyeing up the site for a free school.
Closure of the Chaucer in Spring Lane was announced in February 2014 after it was plagued by falling numbers and financial problems.
The future of the site, owned by Kent County Council, has been under discussion since.
Now Christ Church bosses say their proposed multi-million pound establishment would become a centre of excellence and help plug the predicted shortfall in secondary places in the city in the coming years.
A bid will be made to the Department for Education in September this year with a view to opening it in September 2019.
University vice-chancellor Prof Rama Thirunamachandran said: “Our long-standing commitment to the education of children and young people lies at the core of our mission of transforming lives and communities.
“Opening a university-governed school in Canterbury would enable us to add directly to the city’s capacity to provide for the needs of its young people.”
All teaching staff will be qualified teachers and responsibility for each class will always remain with its qualified teacher.
However, the school will also host training places for student teachers who will act as an extra resource for the pupils, keeping the pupil-to-adult ratio low.
Dr John Moss, dean of education, said: “Canterbury Christ Church University was founded in 1962 as a teacher-training college. Working with hundreds of partner schools for over 50 years, we are one of the country’s leading institutions for the development of new and serving teachers.
“Our commitment to local and regional schools and their pupils is at the core of our work.
“We believe in the power of education to make a transformative difference in the lives of young people and we are passionate about acting on that belief.”
Rumours had been circulating within the local education industry that Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham was interested in the site, but an inquiry from the Gazette in May went unanswered.
Graham Birrell, who is leading the project for CCCU, said: “There will soon be a shortfall of secondary places in the city, so we have worked with our partner schools to produce an exciting proposal for the pupils of Canterbury.”
The university is holding a public consultation on the proposals, including a public meeting at 7pm on Thursday, September 15, in the Michael Berry lecture theatre in the Old Sessions House.