Bishop David Brown Secondary School

Closed 3 Oct 2014

Opened 10 Sep 2014

Contact

schoolorg@surreycc.gov.uk

Feedback updated 27 Oct 2017

We asked

Do you agree with the proposal to enlarge Bishop Brown School by one form of entry to six forms of entry from September 2016, with a published admission number (PAN) of 180 age 11-16 places. The school would have overall capacity of 900.

You said

There were 25 responses to the consultation: 8 responses agreed with the proposal; 14 responses disagreed; 3 responses one did not say either way. Six comments raised concern about the expansion having a detrimental effect on students' education; 6 responses were from parents that had specifically chose a smaller school for their children; 7 responses that the school should not be expanded due to its 'poor' academic record. Other concerns included: pastoral care was better in a smaller school; the site is too small to accommodate a larger school; the school should focus on improving education for current pupils rather than expanding; building works would have a detrimental effect on students' education; proximity of new buildings to neighbouring residents; increased noise and distrubance for neighbours; traffic; parents' parking.

We did

The Cabinet Member has given approval of the Statutory Notice, and the proposal to permanently expand Bishop David Brown School from September 2016 confirmed. A permanent planning application for the required building works will be pursued and determined in accordance with relevant planning legislation.

Results updated 27 Oct 2017

Surrey County Council has carried out a consultation with relevant stakeholders and issued consultation documentation regarding the proposal to expand Bishop David Brown Secondary School by 1 form of entry, to 6 forms of entry in September 2016.

The education consultation period was from 10 September 2014 to 3 October 2014. There was also a public meeting held at the school on 23 September 2014, after which Statutory Notices were issued. The public meeting was attended by parents, residents and other interested parties.

A total of 25 formal written responses was received during the consultation via the Surrey Says website, post and email. The responses included 11 from parents of children currently attending the school, and a further 6 from parents of children attending other schools or considering sending children to Bishop David Brown in the future.

The response rate to the consultation was fairly low for consultation exercises of this nature.

Of the 25 written responses, 8 agreed with the proposal to expand the school, 14 disagreed with the proposal to expand the school and 3 did not know or offer a position.

Concern about the proposal can be summarised in 3 areas:

Size of school - concerns over the increase in size of the school and the impact on teaching and learning. The local authority has worked closely with the school in developing the proposal, and the Head Teacher and governing body are in full support of the proposal and are confident that teaching and learning standards and the ethos of the school will be maintained with a larger school community.

Quality of education - Eight responses raised concern about the quality of education; seven felt that the school should not be expanded due to its 'poor' academic record; two responses felt that the school should concentrate on improving education for existing students.

Other issues included building works having a detrimental effect on education, lack of privacy for neighbours, increased noise and disturbance for neighbours, increased traffic and parents' parking.  The development programme will consult with the highways department, and a detailed travel survey will be prepared; building concerns will be addressed through the planning application process.

The local authority, Head Teacher and governing body have taken on board the feedback received, but see no reason not to proceed with the proposal.

The Surrey County Council Member for Schools and Learning has reviewed the comments made during the consultation period and has approved that the expansion proceeds.

 

Files:

Overview

Surrey County Council and Bishop David Brown Secondary School have been working together to look at the increasing demand for secondary school places in Woking and how the school can best meet these changing needs in the future.

Our proposal is that Bishop David Brown Secondary School increases its capacity from 750 places to 900 places by 2016.  This would allow the school to admit up to 180 places at Year 7 from September 2016.

An outline strategy has been agreed in principle for constructing a small 2 classroom extension at the front of the school site, and for internal refurbishment to arrange accommodation in faculty groupings where possible.  Building works would be planned to ensure that disruption to the school is minimised.  Although the case for expansion is independent of the 'New Vision Homes' proposals to redevelop Sheerwater, any additional pupils generated by the development will be provided for as a result of additional infrastructure at the school - this includes enhanced sporting provision being planned as part of the housing development.

Why your views matter

We are now undertaking a consultation on these proposals for Bishop David Brown Secondary School. The Related Documents below contain the detailed proposal which provides more information.

Please let us know what you think about the proposal

- either by completing the Online Survey

- or by using the response form in the Related Documents below.

The deadline for returning/submitting consultation responses is midday on Friday 3 October 2014.

Areas

  • Woking

Audiences

  • Young people
  • Parents
  • Teachers
  • Councillors, MPs
  • Children with disabilities
  • Headteachers

Interests

  • Schools
  • 0-5 year olds
  • 6-11 year olds
  • 12-19 year olds
  • Commissioning
  • Special Educational Needs
  • Parents and families