Have your say on plans to expand Archbishop Temple CoE High School

Wednesday, 31 January 2024 13:13

Residents in Preston are being invited to have their say on proposals to expand Archbishop Temple Church of England High School.

Lancashire County Council has identified that there is a permanent requirement for additional secondary school places in Preston from 2025/26. These are needed to accommodate rising pupil numbers due to housing development in the area and an increase in the birth rate.

To address this, a consultation has launched today (Monday 29th January) on plans to permanently expand Archbishop Temple Church of England High School. This follows a temporary expansion for September 2024 that was approved by the council's cabinet in January.

The permanent expansion would see Archbishop Temple admitting 55 additional pupils to Year 7 from September 2025. This will be accommodated via permanent expansion and remodelling within the existing accommodation. Over time, this would provide an additional 275 secondary school places.

County Councillor Jayne Rear, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for Education and Skills, said: "The county council is responsible for making sure that we have enough school places to meet demand.

"Housing developments, plus an increase in the birth rate, means we need to consider how further primary and secondary places could be provided.

"All school expansions are considered carefully against a set of consistent criteria and having applied these criteria to these proposals, we are confident this is the best course of action.

"I welcome the permanent expansion for Archbishop Temple Church of England High School and I am really keen that people share their views about these proposals."

The consultation will remain open until 5pm on Sunday 3rd March 2024.

For further information about the proposals please visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools and click on 'School Place Provision Planning'.