The Governors of a local primary are calling for a secondary school to be opened in Handforth.
Governors at Handforth Grange Primary School believe Handforth needs its own secondary school to meet the increasing need for secondary places in the area, to ensure that children from Handforth don't need to travel by train each day to school and to allow children from Handforth to continue to be educated together.
They believe it will create a seamless link between primary education, Inclusion and Special Educational Needs provision and Emotional and Mental Health support to ease transition to High School.
Additionally the Governors feel it will continue the development of Handforth as a destination of choice for outstanding education and a place where local families are proud to educate their children and ensure that parents have a choice of Secondary providers and can choose a smaller High School for their child if they wish.
Headteacher Mark Unwin said "Myself and the Governors have long-held a view that Handforth as an area would benefit from having a secondary school - for continuity of education; to provide school places to meet local need from housing growth in the area; to increase parental choice; to reflect increased civic pride in Handforth and to provide much needed local, sports and leisure facilities.
"Many parents have publicly and privately expressed their support, so we are consulting more widely to ascertain the level of interest locally. Providing there is sufficient support, the school, working in partnership as the lead school in the Frank Field Education Trust, will petition the Department for Education."
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Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Grammar/High schools were amalgamated with Secondary Modern schools to form Comprehensives because there could be a wider curriculum with more courses to feed different interests and rolls increased in their early days to 1500 and above. Then the National Curriculum came along and restricted the curriculum again, so that large schools had no future justification for being large.
Wilmslow High needs splitting in to to form two smaller healthier schools but councils have not put money aside to think of an educational rainy day, only to pay for changing street lights to an unproven LED formula.
Handforth could make a worthwhile start here and I wish them well.
Wouldn't it be lovely if CE Planning would only approve developer applications subject to prior infrastructure provision to accommodate more houses more people and more cars. Community Infrastructure Levies without a timetable for their use, as presently, will not hack it.
Two other factors need to be brought to the attention of those planning huge housing developments in Wilmslow and, particularly Handforth.
The closest high school to the site of the Garden Village is in Cheadle Hulme and therefore outside CEC. I understand from the SMBC councillor for the ward that this school is in that it is the most heavily subscribed in Stockport MBC area.
Another alternative is Knutsford. A number of Wilmslow children travel to Knutsford already. There are major housing developments in planned Knutsford and I know from sources at Knutsford Academy that they are looking forward to a time when they do not have to deal with bussing in children and become a natural and favoured choice for the Knutsford community. They will not have the room for those being bussed in.
Coordinated, joined up thinking is needed.
And a new high school in Handforth seems the obvious - indeed, the only- feasible solution.
Enough time has been given to meetings and planning. It is now time to announce that the joint venture Handforth model will happen and where this will be built. With all available land around Wilmslow High School given over to ambitious plans to promote growth, and hopefully to resolve parking issues, Handforth is a no brainer.