Plans to build a new 920-pupil secondary school in South London have been unveiled. The new Kingston Church of England (CofE) Secondary School in Norbiton would be for pupils aged between 11 and 16 years old.
The Department for Education has submitted plans to Kingston Council to build the new school on Jack Goodchild Way. It would accommodate 920 pupils, including 20 students with special educational needs, and around 120 members of staff. It would be managed by the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education Multi-Academy Trust.
The main classrooms would be on the upper floors of the five-storey building, which would have a sports hall, activity studio, dining hall and main hall. The school would also have games areas for different sports, along with hard and soft play areas.
Kings Meadow Preschool would be demolished as part of the development. Existing buildings used by Weir Archer Academy would be moved to another part of the site and extended. The wider community would be able to use parts of the new school outside of school hours.
A statement submitted with the application said: “Whilst the proposal results in the loss of the nursery on site, there is no net loss of community facilities due to the scale of the proposed secondary education facility which provides a considerable uplift in floor area and provides a number of additional community facilities including sports hall and changing rooms.”
The statement also said the council “does not have sufficient capital available to expand existing schools in the borough to the extent that enough additional places would be created to meet forecast demand, neither do the schools in the areas of high demand have enough space to be expanded without major and highly disruptive rebuilds”.
It added: “The only way to meet that need, therefore, remains through the provision of another new secondary school. The proposed development has been identified to address the proposed shortfall of secondary school places.”
The school is planned to open in September 2025, if the scheme is approved. Kingston Council will make a decision on the application in due course.
Images one and two: CGI of the proposed new secondary school on Jack Goodchild Way in Kingston. Credit: Department for Education/Bowmer + Kirkland, provided in Kingston Council documents
