BURNHAM’S MP Joy Morrissey said she is “keen” to see a proposal come forward for a new secondary school in the village.
A working group is urging Bucks Council to bring back a ‘non-selective’ secondary school in Burnham to meet local needs and save parents hundreds of pounds in travel costs as they send their children to Slough, Maidenhead, and other parts of Buckinghamshire.
They want the Burnham Park E-ACT Academy in Stomp Road to re-open but under new management and refurbished after it was forced to close down by the Secretary of State after it saw a significant decrease in pupil numbers after it was rated ‘inadequate’.
READ MORE: Bucks Council urged to reopen Burnham secondary school
The village does have a grammar school but serves only 30 per cent of Burnham’s teenagers.
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Burnham’s MP Joy Morrissey said: “I have been engaging on the issue of secondary education provision in Burnham since shortly after my election in 2019.
“I have even worked with a local academy trust to explore the viability of a new school in the area, possibly on the E Act site. There are certainly challenges that would need to be overcome but I would be keen to see a full, workable proposal brought forward for consideration.”
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak to give UK households '£400 off energy bills' in cost of living plan
Cllr Julie Ward, deputy cabinet member for education and skills, said the data shows there is not enough school places in Burnham for a secondary school to open and that parents choose to send their children to schools in Slough and Maidenhead.
She said: “There are two other secondary schools in Buckinghamshire within five miles of Burnham that have capacity and Burnham families would qualify for free home to school transport as they are catchment schools for the area.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here