Question mark over future of school site

A school is considering whether to move all its pupils on to a single site.

Ark Helenswood Academy says it is carrying out a ‘feasibility study’ as to whether all students should be taught on the Lower School site from September next year, leaving a question mark hanging over the future of the Upper School site further along The Ridge.

In a letter sent to parents last week, principal Tracy Dohel said that pupils would not be moving from the Lower School to the Upper School site this September.

The letter said: “I am able to confirm that our current Year 9 students will be remaining on the Lower School site in September 2017.

“I realise that there has been a long delay in informing you of this but we have had to wait for our new timetable to be written and rooms provisionally allocated before a final informed decision could be made.

“An additional reason for this is that we are currently conducting a feasibility study to look at the entire Academy being housed on the Lower School site from September 2018.

“If that move goes ahead it will be far less disruptive to our Year 9 students during their GCSE studies to let them remain at the same location throughout.