Consultation on the provision of primary school places in Reigate

Overview

Surrey County Council is consulting about options for the future provision of primary school places in the planning area of Reigate.   

The consultation documents at the bottom of this page explain that Reigate Priory Junior School cannot remain on the current site in the long-term, therefore, Surrey County Council needs to consider options available in the area to maintain sufficient school places.  

We are reviewing the available options and feel it is important that we engage with all schools in the primary pupil planning area of Reigate and the local community before Surrey County Council Cabinet make a decision on next steps.  

We would like to hear your views on two options:

Option 1: 

Relocate Reigate Priory Junior School to a new site at Woodhatch Place.

The school would move out of the current building and transfer to a new site at Woodhatch Place, the only available site which met the criteria in a site search completed in August 2023. The site is less than 1 mile, from the current site. This option is subject to the necessary planning permission. Since the move would be to a site less than 2 miles from the current site, there would be no obligation for further consultation on this option, if approved. We currently estimate that if this option is adopted and the necessary permissions are obtained, the new site should be open in September 2026.  

Option 2:

Set up an education working group to explore re-organisation options for schools in the primary planning area of Reigate.

Surrey County Council would bring together decision makers across all schools in the primary planning area of Reigate to consider whether school places in Reigate could be re-organised. The five schools in the primary planning area of Reigate are Reigate Priory Junior School, Dovers Green Infant School, Holmesdale Infant School, Sandcross Primary School and Reigate Parish Primary School. The working group would need to identify changes that could be made as Reigate Priory Junior School cannot stay in its current form. This could include expansions, schools amalgamating and/or changing age ranges to become primary schools, changes in admission arrangements and other reorganisation ideas. It could take six months to a year before agreed proposal(s) are formulated, and they would then be subject to further consultation. We currently estimate that if this option is adopted and the necessary permissions are obtained, the changes could be in place by September 2028.

If option 2 is pursued, this could be done in tandem with pursuing the planning application at Woodhatch under option 1. This is because of the uncertainties in making all the changes which may be necessary under option 2, and doing so within a reasonable time frame.

Please read the consultation information and supporting documents below for further details on the consultation and the options that Surrey County Council Cabinet will consider in February 2024. 

Why your views matter

The aim of this consultation is to offer everyone an opportunity to have their say and help inform decisions. Surrey County Council are looking for a solution that will ensure a sustainable, inclusive educational offer that meets the needs of pupils in the primary planning area of Reigate, in the near and long-term future. We believe it is important to ask for your views on options for the primary planning area of Reigate, to support Surrey County Council Cabinet to make the right decision for the future.   

This education consultation is open to any member of the public and will run for six weeks during term time, from 27 November 2023 to 21 January 2024. After the consultation period has ended, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet will consider feedback from the consultation to ultimately decide on the best option.  

We will hold a public engagement meeting to discuss the proposals and to hear views:   

Date and time: 6.30pm on 6 December 2023    

Venue: Reigate Priory Junior School, Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 7RL  

This is a public meeting and anyone who wishes to, may attend. Please click this link to eventbrite for more information, and to book a place for the event. 

If you have a question in relation to the consultation, please refer to our frequently asked questions which will continue to be updated. You can email further questions to reigateprimaryschools@surreycc.gov.uk 

If you are unable to complete the survey online a consultation response form is available below in the related documents section.

If you need a hard copy of any of the consultation documents, please email reigateprimaryschools@surreycc.gov.uk.

What happens next

The consultation analysis reports available in the related documents section.

The analysis has been submitted with the Cabinet report for the Surrey County Council Cabinet Meeting on 27 February 2024.

Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday, 27 February 2024, 2.00 pm - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

The webpage Provision of primary school places in Reigate - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk) will continue to be updated.