Questions and answers
The proposal is to enlarge and refurbish St Ambrose Barlow 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
This investment will allow us to make significant changes to the learning environment through a substantial programme of refurbishment including some demolition and some new build. Careful planning will be needed to ensure that we gain the greatest possible benefit from the refurbishment programme. Consideration will be given to what re-modelling can be done to create working spaces suitable for the kind of learning that young people will be undertaking in the future.
Across the city we will be investing £150 million to transform our secondary schools. The refurbishment of St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is part of a programme that will provide five new school buildings and the refurbishment of another three. We anticipate spending approximately £14.9 million on the refurbishment of St Ambrose Barlow RC High School. The programme will also include nearly £17 million of investment in computer and communications technology across all of the city’s high schools.
On the basis of current pupil projections in the Roman Catholic sector, we are proposing that the capacity of the refurbished school will increase from 750 to 900 places.
We are taking steps to minimise any disruption caused by the building programme. The phasing of the programme will be carefully designed to avoid any unnecessary disruption.
Work could start on-site in August 2010 and continue until August 2012.
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is an outstanding school and it is considered vital that it continues to develop through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme and beyond. The investment made available through BSF will enable further significant improvements to be made to the educational experiences and achievements of students, supporting the school’s ambitious vision.
As St. Ambrose Barlow is a voluntary aided school, the governing body determines the admissions policy. 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.
We are proposing to increase the number of places at St Ambrose Barlow and All Hallows RC High Schools on the basis that St George’s is proposed for closure. If St George’s does not close then we will not need to, nor will we be able to increase capacity at the other schools or to invest as much in their buildings.
There is currently a statutory consultation taking place.
This page was last updated on 07 November 2007
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