Shropshire Council rejects call for new Shrewsbury secondary schools
Calls to provide more school places in Shrewsbury have been rejected by a council which says the town is experiencing a "unique" large year size.
The publication of school places figures for the Shropshire Council area shows that every secondary school in Shrewsbury is over or at capacity for 2023.
Bowbrook Liberal Democrat Councillor Alex Wagner described the situation as "precarious", saying that "future-proofing" is needed with more development set to take place in the town over coming years.
He said the current state also meant that of the 883 student intake this year, 224 were not allocated their first preference – equating to more than 25 per cent of pupils across the town.
But Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and education, has said that the high birth rate for this year's intake resulted in "exceptional increased demand".
She added that forecasts show the number is set to revert in future years, so the authority does not plan to add more places, or build new schools in Shrewsbury, based on current data.
Councillor Wagner said: "Every school in Shrewsbury is now at or over capacity. That is a precarious situation to be in for a town with a huge scale of development, especially given how concentrated the issue is in the already-well over capacity western and southern suburbs."
He added: "There must be a serious discussion at some point in the near future about the idea that local Liberal Democrats have championed for years, which is a serious expansion of secondary provision. This would have to come in the form of a new school, or expanded provision at over capacity schools.
“Sadly, there are real human consequences to a lack of choice for parents and children alike. I have already had several cases of very upsetting situations. It can’t continue like this and there must be a policy shift for how we deal with a growing town.”
Councillor Hurst-Knight rejected the criticism and said the council had planned for the rise and worked with schools to manage the situation, praising headteachers and officers for finding solutions.
She added that the council has launched a review of school place planning, which will assess the need for future school-building needed to cope with population increases from new housing developments.
She said: “Due to a high birth rate for this year’s intake there was exceptional increased demand for secondary school places this year in Shropshire and across the country. Like many other councils we saw our highest-ever number of applications.
“However, this is something we knew was coming, and is something we have planned for and worked closely with our secondary school leaders to manage – for example, by providing additional classrooms at Meole Brace School.
“Though not everyone was offered their preferred school there are sufficient spaces in Shrewsbury and across the county, and all children who applied on time were offered a place at secondary school in September.
“To help with the allocation of school places this year, Shropshire’s secondary headteachers worked with Shropshire Council officers to find a solution to this exceptional situation. This resulted in many of the schools exceeding their Published Admissions Number prior to National Offer Day on March 1, and has enabled as many on-time applicants as possible to be offered a school place within a reasonable distance from their home address.
“We are very grateful to those who have agreed to accommodate additional pupils. We recognise the significant challenges this presents and will continue to offer support to schools throughout this process.
“Our pupil forecast data shows this year’s cohort is unique in size and numbers seeking a secondary school place should revert to previous levels in future years. Based on this information there is therefore no need to expand capacity or build any new schools.
“Meanwhile, the council has launched a school place planning review with senior leaders in the Shropshire education community, which will begin to identify the requirements for additional school places across the county resulting from housing developments, linked to the Local Plan Review 2016 to 2038.
"The focus in the first instance will be on the next five to ten years and the development of a costed plan to deliver the additional provision.”
