Blue Coat plans seek green light

Photo: Darren Robinson

Blue Coat School

PLANS have been unveiled to open a second "Blue Coat School" in Oldham.

The trust which runs the Egerton Street secondary, one of Oldham's most successful and over-subscribed, launches consultation on the proposal today.

It says the new Church of England school would help to address a shortage in secondary places.

It would be similar to but separate from Blue Coat and would have a different name.

There would be around 270 pupils in each year with half the places open to all pupils and half to those of Christian and other faiths. Faith pupils could be eligible for both but government rules say that if oversubscribed, at least half the intake has to be selected without any reference to faith.

The hope is to open as early as 2019 and with year seven pupils, building up to full capacity over five years. There would not be a sixth form.

Cranmer Education Trust, which also runs two Oldham primaries, wants to open the school in West Oldham but says a site has not been identified.

It would apply for funding from the Government's free school programme as all new schools must be either free schools or academies, both of which are state-funded and outside local authority control.

If successful, the Education Funding Agency would negotiate a site with the trust and Oldham Council.

Julie Hollis, Blue Coat School head teacher and chief executive of Cranmer, said: "The local authority's data shows there is a considerable shortfall in secondary places. Plans to expand existing schools will help alleviate this, however these developments can take time.

"As housing developments continue to bring more people to the area, the pressure on secondary places in Oldham is in danger of becoming acute. We need to plan ahead, and make sure that Oldham has another really good secondary school to offer choice to all parents and to help build up the overall quality of education across the town.

"Our trust is led by people who have a strong local commitment and believes that we are well-placed to open a new school ­- a Blue Coat II ­- which will serve the whole community. We already have an outstanding secondary school with an excellent track record for educational achievement and progress, and we want to use what we have learned in Blue Coat to create another first-class school for Oldham children."

Oldham Council has already said that it wants a new free school to help meet the demand for secondary school places, along with the expansion of Crompton House, Oldham Academy North and Oasis Academy Oldham.

It prefers the free school route as it would have to part-fund an academy.

A spokesman said: "Blue Coat is an outstanding school but any application for a free school is decided by the Department of Education.

"Due to the shortfall in secondary places it is likely Oldham will require a new school in the coming years and we would expect this to be good or outstanding in line with our vision for education across the borough."

Collective Spirit, which opened in Chadderton, is Oldham's only free school. It was opposed by the council and was found to be failing by Ofsted inspectors in June.

Tony Harrison, joint branch secretary of Oldham National Union of Teachers, said it opposed free schools regardless of who was running them.

He added: "They are a back-door method of privatising education. The chaos we have seen in free schools so far leads us to believe they are highly dubious.

"We believe all schools should be open to local democratic control which free schools aren't."

To find out more visit www.cranmereducationtrust.com.