Questions and answers
The proposal is to enlarge All Hallows Roman Catholic High School as part of the wider re-organisation of Roman Catholic High Schools in Salford.
Here we explain the proposals and give answers to some of the questions which are likely to be raised.
Building Schools for the Future is a new capital investment programme introduced by the government to support the transformation of secondary education. The intention of Building Schools for the Future is to provide innovative and inspirational spaces to support education with a view to the next 30 years and beyond.
The Building Schools for the Future programme provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in the educational chances of the children of Salford whilst providing state-of-the-art facilities for the wider community.
Salford City Council is planning to make some major changes to many of its secondary schools over the next few years. As part of our Building Schools for the Future programme we are now consulting on proposals for the city’s Roman Catholic high schools. Currently, there are four such schools:
| School | Current places | Proposed places |
|---|---|---|
| All Hallows RC High School | 600 | 750 |
| St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School | 750 | 900 |
| St. George’s RC High School | 550 | 0 |
| St. Patrick’s RC High School | 900 | 900 |
Our view is that we will need fewer places in Roman Catholic secondary schools in the future. We are proposing to reduce the places over the next few years from 2800 to 2550 across the city. We believe that this is too small a number for four high schools and our plan is, therefore, to:
Close St. George’s RC High School
Expand St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School from 750 to 900 places and spend a large amount of money on refurbishing it
Rebuild All Hallows RC High School on a new site in the Pendleton regeneration area. The school would increase its places from 600 to 750
Spend a large amount of money refurbishing St. Patrick’s RC High School
The investment available through the Building Schools for the Future
programme provides a unique opportunity to abandon "patch and mend" approaches and to enable
local communities to agree a clear and innovative vision for education in Salford. We believe that in
terms of condition, suitability and value for money this can best be achieved through a new school building
for All Hallows RC High School.
Building a new school will enable pupils, staff, governors
and the local community to input into the design of an outstanding new school with state-of-the-art
facilities for learning, teaching, socialising and sport.
Across the city we will be investing £150 million to transform our secondary schools. All Hallows RC High School is part of a programme that will provide five new school buildings and the substantial refurbishment of another three. We expect to spend approximately £15.8 million on the new building for All Hallows. The programme will also include nearly £17 million of investment in computer and communications technology across all of the city’s high schools.
The opportunity to rebuild All Hallows RC High School in the Pendleton regeneration area is currently being explored. There will be a separate opportunity to comment on the new school site as part of the planning consultation process.
On the basis of current pupil projections in the Roman Catholic sector, we are proposing that the capacity of the new school will increase from 600 to 750 pupils.
We are proposing to increase the number of places at two of the Roman Catholic schools on the basis that St George’s RC High School is proposed for closure as part of the overall rationalisation. If St George’s RC High School does not close then we will not be able to increase capacity at the other schools or to invest as much in their buildings.
This is an area of the school which will provide intensive support to pupils who find it difficult to learn in a mainstream classroom environment. There will be a degree of separation from the rest of the school, allowing these pupils the support they need without disrupting other students. There will be four of these additional resources across the city, each based in a different school, with the facilities shared by all of the mainstream secondary schools.
Work is currently scheduled to start on site in March 2010, with a view to completing the works by August 2011. The new school is planned to open in September 2011.
All Hallows RC High School, judged as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, continues to improve, and it is vital that this momentum continues through the Building Schools for the Future programme and beyond. The investment made available through the Building Schools for the Future programme in the school will enable further significant improvements to be made to the educational experiences and achievements of students. The construction of All Hallows RC High School on a new site will minimise the impact of works upon the day-to-day business of education at the school.
As All Hallows RC High School is a voluntary aided school the governing body determines the admissions policy for its own school. However, the planning that has taken place for future RC provision across the city will mean that there will continue to be a place for every Roman Catholic pupil who wants one.
Obviously this depends on where families live in relation to where they choose to send their children to school. It is now a legal requirement for the local authority to look at traffic implications as part of the planning process for any new school building.
There is currently a statutory consultation taking place.
This page was last updated on 07 November 2007
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