Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Bid to solve grammar shortfall
A £5 million grammar school expansion plan to address a predicted shortfall of places across Canterbury and Faversham has been revealed.
Queen Elizabeth’s in Faversham is hoping to boost its Year 7 pupil numbers from 150 to 180 by 2023 in an attempt to keep pace with house-building locally.
A sports hall, classrooms and laboratories are set to be built and more teachers recruited to cater for more pupils.
KCC’S schools plan predicts a shortfall of 50 places at the four grammar schools in Faversham and Canterbury over the next two years, if no action is taken.
A crucial vote to rubber-stamp the multi-million-pound project will be taken by Kent County Council next month.
A report published ahead of the meeting says: “This will help to secure our ambition to ensure that Kent’s young people have access to the education, work and skills opportunities necessary to support Kent business to grow.
“The proposed decision is to agree to provide £5m from the (council’s education) budget for the permanent expansion of Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School from 150 to 180 new places from September 2023.”
Demand in the town, which is earmarked for more than 1,700 new homes over the next eight years, is expected to rise further over the next 17 years.
This is due to proposals put forward by Swale council to add a further 10,000 properties to its 2038 housing commitment, with 3,410 earmarked for Faversham.
In a letter to parents, head teacher David Anderson said: “As the town continues to expand through housing developments in the area, the school continues to be heavily oversubscribed. The resources made available to facilitate such an expansion would provide an opportunity to significantly improve some of the school’s out-of-date facilities.”
It comes after a month-long consultation launched by the secondary with parents, residents and interested parties about the plans closed on December 15.