A WARRINGTON high school, built at a cost of £28 million less than two years ago, looks set to lose its sixth form.
Governors at Culcheth High School have voted to consider closing the sixth form following consultation with stakeholders, including parents, teachers, students and local councillors.
They have already suspended admissions to the sixth form for the coming year.
Culcheth and Glazebury parish councillor Keith Bland said: “I am gobsmacked. We had no inkling this was in the offing.
“Culcheth High is a good school and this is a major blow – particularly after the new school being built. But I understand the reason is a diminishing number of pupils making it difficult, if not impossible, to provide an adequate curriculum.”
Culcheth High School was the first school in Warrington to decide to seek Academy status.
But the school owed £600,000 to Warrington Borough Council, arising from the new school building project, and the council would not agree to the school converting to an Academy until the loan had been repaid.
As a result, the bid for Academy status had to be shelved.
In the meantime, Birchwood High School has expanded, with a brand new sixth form and conversion to an Academy took place this summer.
It is believed the loss of Birchwood students who would previously attended Culcheth has caused the reduced number of pupils at Culcheth.
Cllr Bland said: “We always said there wasn’t room for two sixth forms. That was why Birchwood High was originally built without a sixth form.
“It will always be possible for Culcheth youngsters to go to Birchwood, and there are many other options too. Priestley College and Warrington Collegiate both have good reputations and many youngsters prefer to go to a college rather than a sixth form on the same campus.
“There may be a backlash from the local community because many people liked the idea of their children being able to start at pre school, then go on to primary, then high school and finally sixth form college all on the same campus.”
Because Culcheth High is a community school, the consultation will be led by the borough council. Full details will be made known by the school and the council next month.
The governing body voted 8-0 in favour of go to consultation on closure, with six abstentions.
Borough and parish councillor Chris Vobe – a former pupil – said: “I
was shocked to hear this news. It is very disappointing that the situation has
deteriorated to this point. When I was at Culcheth Sixth Form, it was a
thriving and well-attended college which served our local community well.
“Given
that the High School itself is full, I believe the governing body should have
been looking more closely at why pupils from the village are opting to pursue
their post-16 studies elsewhere. I am surprised that the governors, along with
senior management at the school, have not flagged up these problems sooner.
“I
will be meeting with senior council officers from the education department over
the coming weeks. I will also be liaising with parents who are subject to
the consultation to ensure that their views and comments are taken into
account. I will keep parents in Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft informed.”
Pictured: Birds eye view of Culcheth High School
7 Comments
Is this yet another case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is going to do? Who co-ordinates education in the round in this borough? He, she or they have some explaining to do. Keith Bland is right to be gobsmacked just as much as Chris Vobe is shocked. Why was CHS built with the expectation it would have a thriving sixth form facility to benefit many when there was a likelihood (very real one apparently) a near neighbouring school would set up in opposition? Taken with its outstanding debt of £600,000 you have to wonder whether those making decisions at and for CHS are fit for purpose. It’s easy enough to sit around in committees deciding to spend public money; there plenty examples brought to light every day; doing it sensibly and beneficially is the hard part. Many people and pupils have been badly let down by this decision.
I understand the high school is thriving and has just delivered their highest ever GCSE results, the highest in Warrington. It is not the school’s fault if parents choose to send their children to colleges instead of staying on in the 6th form.
Every school delivers their highest ever GCSE results every year. What I find strange is councillors being gobsmacked and shocked when they have been involved in the consultations.
Before Chris Vobe and the Labour group mouth off too much perhaps he should consider that this money was spent under the national, not local, Building Schools for the Future scheme, under the Labour government. Culcheth being one of the few schools to benefit under a scheme that spent far more on PR and consultants than bricks and mortar. Indeed, his mother, Helen Jones, posed for pictures at Culcheth High School, in a hi-vis vest and hardhat speaking in support of the “investment”.
This is not true. Most schools in Warrington delivered worse results this year and national results also fell.
This is not true. National results fell and most schools in warrington had worse results this year than last year. Once again, ill informed comments form people who know none of the facts
What possible influence could Helen Jones MP appearing in the unbiquitous high viz vest, with or without Chris Vobe being in the snapshot, have on the decision apparently taken by others (so far unnamed) not to have a sixth form at CHS after spending so much public money? Photo opportunities are pretty much par for the course across the political spectrum local, national and international nowadays. So HJMP and CV were not behaving out of political character any more than say David Mowat or the leader of WBC Council. Wherever the cash came from it seems the spending of it was not properly considered in the rush to build the school.