Eton-linked college is coming to Oldham

The exact location of a ‘transformative’ new college linked to Eton has been revealed for the first time.

Eton Star Oldham, a state sixth form aiming to support disadvantaged young people into top universities, will be built on the site of the current Tommyfield outdoor market.

The elite boarding school announced plans to open a new sixth form in Oldham with the Star Academies state school trust in August 2023.

But exact details about the college for 16-19 year-olds were being kept under wraps.

Traders currently using the outdoor market will be moved to a brand new market hall attached to the Spindles centre due to be completed by Spring 2025.

The ‘state of the art’ college would then be built on the site, which includes the market car park.

The site will still need to be officially approved by Oldham Council’s cabinet, which is likely to take place in September according to council sources.

Oldham council boss Arooj Shah commended the project as an ‘exciting and significant’ moment for the borough.

Coun Shah said: “This means everyone gets a top class education, whatever their background and wherever they live, and the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“[The Tommyfield market plot] is a fantastic place for the college to be sited.

"It will add vibrancy to our town centre, which we are rapidly transforming into one of the most exciting in Greater Manchester.

"The new state of the art building will be a great addition to the already excellent sixth form education we have on offer.”

The council leader added that she expected the new college would also ‘increase footfall’ in the town centre and help local businesses.

Eton College Headmaster Simon Henderson added: “Every time I am in Oldham, I am struck by the ambition of the council’s vision for the town, by the commitment of local schools and colleges to work in partnership and by the community’s belief in the transformative power of education.

“The location of the new Eton Star Oldham sixth form reflects all this, and we intend to create a civic hub which, through working with others, will help drive further opportunity for young people in Oldham and beyond.”

The new school will aim to bring ‘the best on offer’ in education at Eton College and Star Academies, one of the best-performing state school trusts in the country, to its 480 pupils.

Eton college headmaster Simon Henderson has previously said the school will be ‘selective’ but that they would not be ‘cherry-picking’ gifted students from surrounding schools.

Instead he was looking for ‘bright young kids’ who struggled to convert their smarts into A-Levels, with a priority on kids from families with the ‘lowest incomes’ and children in care.

Currently, only 36 percent of Oldham’s young people go on to get these qualifications after leaving secondary school.

Sir Hamid Patel CBE, the Star Academies chief executive, said the college aimed “not only to support students at Eton Star Oldham to achieve transformative outcomes but, by working collaboratively with local schools and other educational settings, to boost attainment and broaden the opportunities open to every young person in Oldham.”

The Oldham college will be one of three Eton sponsored sixth forms opening in the North and Midlands along with Dudley and Middlesbrough.

All three areas were listed in the Government’s 55 education ‘cold spots’ in England – those identified as having the weakest education outcomes – as part of its levelling up agenda.

The elite private school has pledged to invest £1m extra at each new sixth form per year on top of the government’s own funding through the free school programme.

The existing all-boys Eton boarding school in Berkshire has produced 19 prime ministers, and is the alma mater of Boris Johnson and Prince William.

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