Nearly 600 responses to new secondary school survey

Nearly 600 responses were received as part of the recent engagement survey for a new secondary school in Worcester.

Over 80% of those who had their say agreed or strongly agreed that a new secondary school in Worcester was needed.

Respondents felt that the key factors to be considered for when building a new school in the city are:

-                 Students feel safe in and around school, the school has strong leadership, that students feel their mental health and wellbeing is well supported, and that students make good academic progress.

-                The school should be located within the local community it will serve and accessible by active travel routes from day one, taking into account existing congestion.

-                 Any new build should take consideration of sustainability and energy efficiency, and use local resources where possible.

Councillor Marcus Hart, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Education said: "We are really grateful to people who shared their views through the engagement process. It was really crucial to us that we were able to consider stakeholders' views at the very start of the project, we wanted to ensure the opinions and expectations of those who would be directly impacted by the scheme were taken on board and integrated into the process. The feedback received gives the Council a clear foundation to build on when looking further forward towards the vision, parameters, specification of the scheme."

The survey also highlighted that residents feel that the new school should be integrated within its new community. This can be done by promoting community use of facilities and by prioritising children living nearby in the admissions criteria.

In February this year, Cabinet approved the creation of a new 600 place secondary school, in Worcester, to meet the increased demand for school places.

These results will also support the Council's evaluation of sites, which will be taken to Cabinet alongside the key findings from the survey over the next few months.