QandA

1. What discussions have taken place with the Roman Catholic Diocese since the last proposals were consulted on?

Following the previous consultation officers of the Local Authority have met with the Bishop of Salford and representatives of the Roman Catholic Diocese on a number of occasions. Both the Local Authority and the Roman Catholic Diocese have agreed these proposals which involve all four Roman Catholic High Schools.

2. Why not keep all four schools the same size and just refurbish the existing buildings?

BSF is a city wide programme. The government’s intention for the programme is to create ‘transformational change’ leading to inspiring buildings to support the education of our children and their communities for the future. If we spend money just on upgrading current building stock, this will not achieve transformation and will be unacceptable to central government because it would not achieve the central purpose of BSF, therefore funding would not be approved.

3. Why can’t the current St. George’s RC High School building be refurbished to become a school fit for the twenty first century?

A professional survey has been undertaken by Salford City Council to assess the condition of the building fabric at all high schools. Each element of the school building has been assessed according to its current condition. The assessment for St. George’s R.C. High School concluded that:

• Around £1.2 million would need to be spent just to bring the building up to a good standard of repair, with no transformation. The figure is based upon a technical evaluation of the school buildings.
• Far more would have to be spent on the building to make it suitable to deliver education in the long term.
• A refurbishment of the existing building would not be value for money.

4. Why is St. George’s R.C. High School site considered too small?

• A new school for 550 pupils requires in the region of 45,000 square metres overall including a minimum of 30,000 square metres of team games provision. The school site overall is only 31,590 square metres and could not accommodate the minimum area for team games and buildings.
• The restricted site impacts not only on formal provision for sport but also the informal and social space for children.
• Ideally a site should be significantly above the minimum requirements.

The revised plan would allow the pupils who live in Little Hulton and Walkden to attend an already outstanding school, newly housed in a state of the art building. We believe that this plan provides better educational opportunities in the longer term.

5. You are proposing to extend St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School by an additional 300 places, yet there are 600 pupils attending St. George’s RC High School. What will happen to the additional 300 pupils?

This depends on which other schools parents may choose to send their children to and where those children live. There will be an extra 300 places available at the new St. Ambrose Barlow RC high School, 300 places at Walkden High School and there will also be some places at Harrop Fold High School. The governing body of each Voluntary Aided school determines the school’s admissions policy. We are working with all of the schools and the RC Diocese to minimise disruption to pupils’ education.

6. Will those St. George’s RC High School pupils who will be affected by the proposed closure automatically be guaranteed a place at the newly built St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School?

Our aim is that every pupil attending St. George’s RC High School in 2012 will be able to continue their education at a Roman Catholic School if they wish to. We will work with the Headteachers and the Governing Bodies of St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School and St George’s RC High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese to try to ensure that all the pupils who wish to, will be able to transfer to the new school in 2012.

In addition we will work with St. George’s RC High School and St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School so that pupils in Year 11 at that time can continue their GCSE work with minimal disruption. This may include pupils in Year 11 continuing to attend the St. George’s RC High School building until they have completed their exams.

7. Why is this proposal linked to the proposals for other Roman Catholic High Schools?

The Roman Catholic sector proposals are all linked financially and in respect of pupil numbers. Therefore if the decision not to close St. George’s R.C. High School is not approved, all the Roman Catholic high school proposals will require revision.

8. When would St. George’s RC High School close if this proposal were agreed?

The proposed closure date for St George’s RC High School is September 2012. Plans would be made to minimise any disruption to the education of young people who will be undertaking their GCSE’s. This could involve allowing year 11 pupils to complete their education at the St George’s RC High School building rather than moving school at the end of year 10.

9. How can my views be represented?

When a council wishes to make major changes to a school, they are required to follow a legally defined process, which includes opportunities for all interested parties to make comments and objections.

You now have an opportunity to comment on the council’s proposals. Following the consultation, officers from Salford City Council will analyse all responses and report back to the council’s Cabinet. If the Cabinet decides to continue with the proposal a statutory notice will be published. This will give all interested parties a further six weeks to make comments and objections. All responses will then be reported to the council’s Cabinet, which is the local decision maker.

This page was last updated on 4 October 2009