High school's £5 million expansion

A WARRINGTON high school – already designated as a high performing specialist school – looks set to expand with a sixth form catering for up to 200 students.
The borough council’s executive board is being urged to approve a proposal to alter the age range of Birchwood High School from 11-16 to 11-18 to add a sixth form for 200 pupils and to “significantly” increase the capacity of the school to accommodated the additional pupils from September 2010.
Council chiefs have been told the proposal follows the school qualifying under a presumption granted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in April last year.
The proposal would support Warrington’s aims to increase the number of pupils staying on at school after 16 and support the national target for 85 per cent of all learners staying in education until 19 by 2011, rising to 100 per cent by 2015.
It is also intended to double the number of apprenticeships available nationally and the addition provision at Birchwood would support young people in accessing these opportunities.
Currently in Warrington there is a shortfall in work based learning provision and a large number of young people not in education, employment or training.
Although these are mainly in inner wards, the situation is also bad at Birchwood and adjoining areas such as Poulton North, Poplars, Hulme and Orford, where 18 per cent of Birchwood pupils live.
Last month, the Learning and Skills Council approved funding of more than £5.6 million for Birchwood – and would also provide revenue funding to support sixth form provision.The school has already carried out a consultation exercise in the Birchwood area and the overwhelming response was positive – particularly from parents and employers.