Parents are to be offered the chance to meet potential sponsors of two new schools planned for Littleport.

Both will fit into the same site near the town’s leisure complex and provide places for 600 secondary pupils aged 11-16 and a second school will accommodate 110 pupils aged 2 to 19 with complex special educational needs.

Cambridgeshire County Council says the site will have the capacity to grow to provide up to 750 secondary school places and there will also be space for a primary school at a later date.

A report to the county council says research data on Littleport shows that one ward within the 7,300 population is within the 20 per cent most deprived in Cambridgeshire.

“In addition other wards have the highest scores for deprivation in the district in particular around education, skills and training and income deprivation,” says the report.

Littleport is served by two primary schools which are within the catchment area of Ely College. This will change with the opening of the new secondary schools in Littleport in 2016.

A public meeting to meet potential sponsors of the new secondary and special schools in Littleport is now planned.

Each of the potential bidders wanting to run the new schools will give a presentation, followed by an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.

The meeting will be held on February 27 in the Littleport Leisure Centre, doors open at 6pm, with presentations starting at 6:30pm.

A council spokesman said they were required by law to seek sponsors for the schools to be run as either a Free School or an Academy.

The closing date for proposals is February 10 and the public meeting on February 27 will provide the local community with an opportunity to question potential sponsors about their proposals for the new schools.

This will be followed by an independent panel of councillors and officers which will meet on March 6 and 7 to choose a preferred sponsor and make a recommendation to cabinet. The preferred sponsored will be decided on April 15.

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies/education/schools/changestoschools/New+Littleport+schools.htm

Anyone who wishes to discuss the plans in more details should contact Elizabeth Haines on 01223 699606 or at elizabeth.haines@cambridgeshire.gov.uk