Does Wisbech need a new secondary school? Have your say

Meadowgate School Wisbech had an outstanding Ofsted. Picture: Steve Williams. (Image: Archant)

A consultation has been launched to gather opinions about the suggested site next to Meadowgate School.

Research has shown that an extra 210 school places will be needed for 11-year-olds in the area by 2024.

A county council spokesman said: “There are already more pupils living within the catchment area of the present Thomas Clarkson Academy than there are places available.

“Cambridgeshire County Council has therefore set aside £23m for a new secondary school for between 600 and 750 pupils in Wisbech to open in 2020.

“A site has already been identified on land owned by the College of West Anglia (CWA) adjacent to Meadowgate School.

“CWA has already agreed in principle to sell the land to the county council.”

A detailed assessment has concluded that the site would be suitable to develop a new school and would enable it to be completed within the required timescales.

However, there are transport and access issues associated with the site and it is also in the same area of the town as the existing school - the Thomas Clarkson Academy.

The spokesman said; “A consultation has therefore been launched to establish whether there is support for the opening of a new secondary school in Wisbech.”

The consultation will focus on:

• The suitability of the CWA for the new school.

• If there are any better alternative sites for the school that the local community would like the council to consider

Anyone with an interest – future parents, governors and the community – is asked to complete the consultation by 21 October.

Responses will be collated and analysed and a recommendation will then be taken to the council’s children and young people’s committee in December on whether to proceed with the current proposals or to investigate and develop alternatives.

• Complete the survey here: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/proposalforasecondaryschoolinthefenlands