40. KETTERING the Kettering Schools Area Comprises the Town Of

40. KETTERING The Kettering Schools Area comprises the town of Kettering, as well as Rothwell, Desborough, Burton Latimer and surrounding villages. Current position There are six secondary schools in the area, including two all-through Academies. Their combined capacity is for 1,210 pupils per year group. There is a total of 35 primary schools. Ten of these are within the linked area of Montsaye School, two are in Burton Latimer and five in villages around Kettering. The combined capacity of the primary schools is 1,210 per year group. There are two pairs of Infant and Junior schools in Kettering and one pair in both Desborough and Rothwell. Kettering Buccleuch Academy (formerly Avondale Infant, Avondale Junior and Montagu Schools) and Kettering Science Academy (formerly Henry Gotch Primary and Ise Community College) opened in September 2009 and both expect to move into new build premises by September 2013. There are four special schools in the Kettering area: an all-age school for pupils with identified behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), a primary and a secondary special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties and autism and a secondary school for pupils with significant, severe learning difficulties including autism. These schools admit pupils from the areas of Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and East Northants. For pupils who require other specialist placement there are resourced provisions at Millbrook Infant, Millbrook Junior, Henry Gotch Primary, Ronald Tree Nursery, Avondale Infant and Junior schools and Latimer Secondary School. The combined capacity of special school provision is 366 pupils (103 primary and 233 secondary). The combined capacity of designated special provision is 41 pupils (34 primary and 7 secondary) There is a proposed provision for secondary pupils with autism at Bishop Stopford Secondary School. Enrolment rates Historically, around 95per cent of four year olds are enrolled in the maintained primary schools; it is likely that the remainder go into the private sector. Numbers of pupils increase by around 5per cent at secondary transfer. There are two significant factors here: Large numbers of pupils from outside the area attend Bishop Stopford and Southfield, as they are respectively the only church and girls schools serving the north of the county; 90 pupils per year from the Kettering area attend Brooke Weston Academy in Corby. Planned growth Kettering Borough is designated as a growth area as part of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy (MKSM). The latest Regional Spatial Strategy proposes a target of some 16,250 dwellings to be completed between 2001 and 2026. Between 2001 and mid-2009, a total of 4,117 dwellings had been completed, as indicated in the table below. Table 1: Preferred Option for the Distribution of Housing Growth in Kettering Areas No. of Units No. built Remainder 2001-2021 mid-2009 Kettering 7500 1820 5680 Burton Latimer 700 260 440 Desborough 1940 870 1070 Rothwell 1320 350 970 Kettering 1640 1240 400 Rural Total 13100 4540 8560 Source: North Northamptonshire Core Spatial Strategy 2008 Kettering Borough Council Planning Department The new village of Mawsley, to the south of Kettering (included in the „Kettering Rural‟) is almost complete. The remainder of the new housing will be a combination of brownfield sites and urban extensions, by far the largest of which is to the east of Kettering (see table 2). Table 2: Large Sites (500 or more dwellings) Sites No. of Dwellings East of Kettering extension 5,500 Kettering West (West Hill) 500 Rothwell North Strategic Development Area 700 Desborough North (The Grange) 500* Desborough Strategic Development Area 700 Mawsley 870* Barton Seagrave (Polwell Lane) 500 Burton Latimer (three sites) 500 * Currently under construction Pupil numbers Pupil numbers in primary schools in the Kettering area have remained fairly stable around 7,500 throughout the last decade, however the January 2010 roll increased to 7,650 with year groups around the range 1,050-1,150. During this period, numbers in the secondary schools rose quite rapidly, from 6,420 in 2001 to 6,847 in 2004. Between 2004 and 2009, the roll remained stable around 6,850, but fell to 6,733 in January 2010. The annual number of births in the Kettering area has recently shown an increase, from 960 in 2000/1 to 1,300 in 2008/9. The effect of growth The state of the housing market makes prediction difficult, but it is likely that the annual rate of housing completions in the borough may stay at the recent average of 600 completions a year before the bigger sites begin in the next few years. From 2011-12, annual completions are expected to increase to around 700-800. We would expect to see primary numbers continue to increase but a significant impact on secondary numbers from new housing is not likely to be seen for another seven years or so, as these pupils move through from their primary schools. Primary rolls are expected to grow steadily towards 1,300 per year group by the middle of the next decade. Secondary numbers may well begin to exceed the accommodation currently available by around 2016. However, this could be a little earlier if the Brooke Weston admission policy were to change (see below). New primary provision East of Kettering extension – The proposed 5,500 dwellings will generate around seven f.e.. Four sites for primary schools therefore need to be reserved. Funding should be exclusively from developer contributions. Kettering West (West Hill) – This development of 500 homes will not generate sufficient pupils for a 1 f.e. primary school. However, there is high demand for places at the neighbouring school, Hall Meadow. In addition, there is the possibility of further development to the north of West Hill, on land believed to be owned by the Church of England. Ideally, the council would like to see a 1 f.e. primary school established. Rothwell – The admission numbers for the Infant and Junior Schools are 112 in each case. Current year group sizes average 70-80. The Strategic Development Area (SDA) is likely to generate around 25-30 pupils per year group, so capacity in the two schools is expected to be just about sufficient. Desborough – Both primary schools in the town (Havelock Infant and Loatlands Primary) were fully enrolled in September 2008 and 2009. There will be continued pressure on places as construction continues at The Grange. A further 1 f.e. will be needed in order to accommodate pupils from the SDA, which is likely to be to the north of the town. Consideration is being given to a number of options including the expansion of Loatlands (currently 1 f.e.) as a 2 f.e. primary school either on its current site or a new site. Mawsley – This development has generated more pupils than would normally be expected, as a result of a high concentration of family homes. The primary school opened in 2004 as 1 f.e. One extension has already taken place and a second, in order to provide 1.5 f.e., is under construction. The position is under review and further accommodation may be required. Barton Seagrave – The planning application for the development on Polwell Lane was approved on appeal. Developer contributions will provide for the enlargement of Barton Seagrave Primary from its current size (Admission Number – 52) to 2.5 f.e. Burton Latimer – There are some surplus places at both schools in the town. These will absorb some of the pupils from new developments. Additional places will be needed in order to take the total to 4 f.e.. As St Mary‟s Primary is currently the smaller of the schools (admission number = 41), consideration may be given first to an enlargement there, although site constraints may make this problematic. New secondary provision Around 9,000 homes remain to be constructed by 2021. The projections indicate that by 2021, total pupil numbers will be around 1,400 in excess of current capacity of 7,300 places. Around 2,000 of the new homes remain to be built in Rothwell and Desborough, which are served by Montsaye School. These homes could be expected to generate around 70 pupils per year group. Based on the historic “join rate” of 80per cent, this will generate around 55 extra pupils in each year for Montsaye. Currently the school has capacity for 240 pupils in each year group and year group sizes average around 200. Taken with the possible change to Brooke Weston‟s admission policy, it is therefore likely that an extension of 1 f.e. will be required at the College, which should be funded by developer contributions. Another 1,000 homes (subject to the appeal for Polwell Lane) remain to be built in Barton Seagrave and Burton Latimer. This area is served by Latimer School, which is full to its capacity of 196 pupils per year group. An extension of 1 f.e. would be required to accommodate these pupils. Most of the remaining homes will be within the Kettering urban area. The table below indicates how the demand for secondary places might be calculated. Factor Pupils generated (including 16+) by 2021 Overall excess of pupils against current 1400 capacity Less additional capacity at Montsaye -200 Less additional capacity at Latimer -200 Plus long-term possibility of 2.5 f.e. 500* pupils no longer accessing Brooke Weston Total Demand 1500 *This figure represents the maximum; it is possible that there may be no pupils in this category at all. In preliminary discussions, several means of accommodating the additional demand have been suggested: A) Enlarging some or all of the existing secondary schools on their current sites; B) Enlarging one of the existing schools and re-locating it onto the area of new development; C) A combination of A and B D) Establishing a new school on the new development.

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