Possible Schools Reorganisation in Arley

 

 

WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL PROPOSAL TO AMALGAMATE SCHOOLS

Warwickshire County Council is currently consulting on the proposal to amalgamate Gun Hill Infant School and Herbert Fowler Junior School to create a single all through primary school for children aged 3 -11. This proposal would see the new Primary School established with effect from September 2011, initially on the Herbert Fowler site, before re-locating to purpose built accommodation at some stage in the future.

The formal consultation will include a public meeting for parents and prospective parents for both schools and other interested parties to be held at Gun Hill Infant school on Monday 22nd March and at Herbert Fowler Junior School on Tuesday 23rd March. Both meetings will begin at 7.00 p.m.

If you would like a copy of the consultation document, copies are available from Janet Neale at the County Council on 01926 742266 or janetneale@warwickshire.gov.uk

Alternatively the text of this paper is available as a download here.

Notes of the Gun Hill Infant School Open Meeting.

Notes of the Herbert Fowler Junior School Open Meeting.

Agenda Management Sheet NWBC Committee meeting 27th May 2010

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Latest News about the closure of Herbert Fowler School-17th Nov.2011

Warwickshire County Council's cabinet today recommended to full council the allocation of money to build a school in New Arley to replace Gun Hill Infant and Herbert Fowler Junior.

£3.75m has been earmarked to develop on the site of the existing Gun Hill Infant School.  The money has come from unallocated capital receipts from the disposal of former school sites, which have been ring fenced for use within the schools capital programme.

Consultation carried out in 2010 clearly indicated that the new school should be located on the site of the existing Gun Hill Infant School and that amalgamation should only take place once new buildings had been provided.

Cabinet has identified as a priority the need to provide additional primary school places.  Its Schools Capital Programme, approved this summer, lays out plans for a fully funded programme of expansion.
The new school will have capacity for 315 places plus a 26 place nursery to be constructed on the existing playing fields at Gun Hill Infant. 

Upon completion and when the pupils have been moved in, the former Gun Hill School will be demolished to create playing fields, hard play and parking areas.
(For the full text see Warwickshire County Council website)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Letter from OARS.

A New School in Arley

OARS welcomes effort to improve the education of youngsters in Arley.  The provision of a modern combined junior and infants school can only help to raise the level of achievement of children in the two villages. We hope that the process of moving everyone to Herbert Fowler and then to the new school can be done with the minimum of disruption to the education and social development of the children affected by the move.

A matter of concern, however, is the proposal to try to fit a larger building onto the existing site at Gun Hill. The need to create a safe entrance on a very congested road, and provide a car park for the increased number of staff, is likely to leave insufficient open space for a playing field.

We would also like to be assured that when Herbert Fowler closes the site is set aside for community use and is not sold to a developer for housing. At the moment we are trying to establish whether there are any restrictions that were placed on the use of the land when it was given for the building of the old school, and would welcome help from villagers who know anything about how the school came to be built.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________