Dear Parents and Carers, Sharnbrook Academy Federation Consultation on proposed changes to age-ranges, structures and admissions Our last update on the structure of the Sharnbrook Academy Federation’s schools was in July. At that time we were looking to consult on change in the summer of 2015. Since then we have continued to work up the detail of these changes. We have also maintained a dialogue with Bedford Borough Council, our feeder lower schools and the St Albans Church of England Diocese. From all that we have heard, we have decided to bring our consultation forward, to shorten the period of uncertainty for parents and staff. We are now therefore publishing our Consultation document today and this can be accessed via the following link http://www.sharnbrook.beds.sch.uk/saf-governance/13589.html. Our proposal is as follows: That Harrold Priory Middle, Margaret Beaufort Middle and Sharnbrook Upper Schools should become a single school, based on the three existing sites, offering provision from age 9 (Year 5) to age 18/19 (Year 13) and that Lincroft School should extend its age-range to become an all-through secondary school offering provision from age 9 (Year 5) to age 16 (Year 11). The consultation will run until 12pm on 27 February 2015. You will have several opportunities in January to meet with us to hear more about our proposal for change. The consultation document is detailed but in summary: The proposal does not affect any lower schools and has the support of Bedford Borough Council Strong Key Stage 2 provision in Years 5 and 6 will continue By bringing Harrold Priory, Margaret Beaufort and Sharnbrook Upper School together and extending the age range at Lincroft, we can deliver a high quality Key Stage 3 curriculum and have Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 in one school. This will optimise specialist teaching for Years 7 to 11 and enable better preparation for GCSEs The proposed changes will benefit our students and give greater opportunities to our staff. There will be more choice for parents We are also consulting on our admission arrangements for 2016. These are for the single school which will be known as Sharnbrook Academy and for Lincroft. These can be viewed at http://www.sharnbrook.beds.sch.uk/saf-governance/13589.html As the consultation progresses we will be publishing frequently asked questions on our website. We want to hear your views. Please do attend one of the meetings and revisit our website for more information. You can respond to the consultation on line at http://www.sharnbrook.beds.sch.uk/saf-governance/13589.html We believe this is very positive move for the Federation and is key to us sustaining the high quality education for north Bedfordshire. We wish you a happy Christmas and hope you will take the opportunity to get involved in the consultation. Yours sincerely Hugh Carr-Archer Chair Sharnbrook Academy Federation .