Bath school's sixth form plans
A Bath secondary school has revealed plans to develop its own sixth form.
St Gregory's Catholic College in Odd Down has started a consultation process to look into the possibility of increasing its upper age limit to 19.
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Raymond Friel
The proposals come as Bath and North East Somerset Council presses on with its own plans to reshuffle the area's secondary school system to reduce the number of empty classrooms.
But as the possible changes at St Gregory's are dealing with post-16 education, the council has said it would support the move.
Headteacher Raymond Friel said parental choice was a strong driving force behind the expansion.
He said: "Our parents for years have wanted a sixth form and our students want a sixth form and it is actually a wrench for them to leave here and go on to the other schools.
"We do create here a very strong sense of family and community. We offer a quality education and it is difficult for the students to leave that behind."
To accommodate the extra 190 students, St Gregory's is planning to build an estimated £3 million sixth form block on the triangle of green-belt land to the west of the school, which is surrounded by Wellsway, Combe Hay Lane and Sulis Manor Road.
It would include a theatre and the facilities would be open to the public out of school hours.
This summer 150 Year 11 pupils left St Gregory's to go on to further education and more than half went to local sixth forms in B&NES.
Traditionally, many St Gregory's pupils have also gone onto St Brendan's College at Brislington.
Mr Friel said the new sixth form should not be seen as a rival to other post-16 education providers.
He said: "If this came to be it would be collaborative work in partnership with other schools and it would not be intended as a threat."
Year 12 students could be moving into the new sixth form as early as September 2011 if the consultation process and funding applications go to plan.
A statement from the council said the proposal fitted in with the authority's overall strategy for schools and that the council would be supporting the plans.
Liberal Democrat spokesman for children's services Cllr Nathan Hartley (Lib Dem, Peasedown St John) said he was also pleased to hear about the plans.
He said: "I welcome any move to provide more opportunities for young people in both Bath and the wider authority."
The first information evening will be held at the school this evening between 5pm and 8pm, where there will be a chance for local residents to view draft plans.
There will be another meeting for local residents on Tuesday September 15 starting at 7pm.
For more information go to www.st-gregorys.bathnes.sch.uk and any comments or questions should be sent to Sixth-Form-Consultation@st-gregorys.bathnes.sch.uk.
2 Comments
by Agnes Morrison, WELLS
Sunday, October 11 2009, 10:12AM
“Re comment from JM, Bath.
Whilst acknowledging your concerns about the usage of a piece of Green Belt, I would like to counter your concerns with a different opinion! I have a son who is taught in St. Gregory's Catholic College, and another son who recently finished his studies, to then find himself in the position of having to, and not by choice I might add, acquire himself a position within another educational setting. A setting which would be completely different from the College he had just left where he was extremely happy and well cared for by both his teachers and peers! I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, he was unsure of what his future held, especially at this crucial time, when the subjects chosen are moving very quickly through the process of advancement! On top of that he has to quickly adapt to a completely new school and attempt to make new friends, within this new setting. I hope you will be able to relate to a few of the details mentioned, If you are a parent yourself, and give us your support . Thankyou, for having this opportunity to voice our concerns, and good luck!”
by JM, Bath
Friday, September 04 2009, 9:08AM
“When this school was built, enough land was earmarked as white land behind it for more educational or recreational use, and there was talk of a second school. This land was allowed to be used for housing (Sulis Meadows) after many years of residents' battling to keep the green fields. If the school wants to develop another building, then they should do it within their current boundaries and not be allowed to take Green Belt, no matter how small. That triangle of land is a haven for a variety of wildlife species and plants and currently shields the very ugly school buildings from the road. That patch of trees helps to deal with pollutants in the air, and the patch is a valuable sponge for surface water. To allow a development there so close to the road would be detrimental to the area, and give an even more built up appearance to the crossroads. The new development on the opposite corner at the old Burnt House site is already right on the roadside, where the pub was set back, so building diagonally opposite will give a really closed in feel where it is currently countrified. Having destroyed a large chunk of natural hedgerow to build the bus lane to nowhere, this is another erosion into the green areas that should not be allowed. Add to that the huge destruction done to the area by the other ugly site at Fullers Earth and we have already lost many natural habitats. The best thing that could happen to that awful current 60s monstrosity they inhabit would be to flatten it and start again!”