Possible new secondary school for Chalfont St Peter
A NEW secondary school could be built in Chalfont St Peter to boost the number of school places in south Bucks.
Plans are being drawn up for a 'free school', which would be government, rather than county council, funded. A planning application is set to be made next week.
It is hoped the school, which would provide several hundred new spaces for children, will be situated on the site of the Holy Cross Convent School in Chalfont St Peter, which closed its doors in 2006.
A plan to move the Chalfont St Peter Academy primary school to the site has been backed by the parish council, but the new idea, which is being put forward by a steering group from St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in the village, would see those plans scrapped.
Rory Staunton, secretary of the steering group, said: "The Holy Cross site has all the facilities that are needed for a school. We think it should be used as a Catholic secondary school. The village has not had one since Holy Cross shut down and we think that it should be reinstated."
The planned school would be a faith school with a Catholic ethos, although only half of its pupils would be Catholic, to fit in with government guidelines.
The steering group has already held a meeting to discus the plans and present the idea to parents.
Mr Staunton said: "We have had a lot of positive feedback from parents who think that this is the ideal solution to how the site should be used."
The new free school is dependent on Chalfont St Peter parish council being successful in the judicial review it has put in place to overturn Chiltern District Council's plans to build 200 homes on the site,
The steering group has identified other potential sites in the surrounding area for the school, but Holy Cross is its preference.
Mr Staunton said: "We are very hopeful that this will be a success and we believe that it is something that Chalfont St Peter needs."
Two meetings are to take place this weekend to discuss the proposal further, which anyone in the village is welcome to attend.
The first takes place on Sunday at 6pm at the Chalfont St Peter Community Centre, and the second on the same day at 8pm at the Gerrards Cross Memorial Centre.
■ What do you think of the idea? Email jackabell@trinitysouth.co.uk or call 07795 953 387.
We'd like to hear from you. Send your stories, pics and videos
Leave a comment