Delayed secondary school in Littleborough could now open in 2027

A new high school planned for Littleborough that was supposed to open last year is now estimated to open in 2027.

The new high school, Star Lakeside Academy, was given the go-ahead by the government back in 2019 with plans to open in 2023, as concerns mounted over a shortfall of school places. Since then, the 750-place school project has been paused by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2022 and now further delays are expected.

The academy trust Star Academies are set to run the new school which would be located on a section of the playing fields next to Littleborough Community Primary School.

Back in 2022 when the first delay was announced, Littleborough Lakeside councillor Tom Besford was concerned more pupils would have to be sent out of the area for school and families would be split up. That has since come true with students not being able to get into Wardle Academy having to go further afield to St Cuthbert’s, Kingsway High and Todmorden High, according to Councillor Besford.
 

Read more: Desperately needed new school in Littleborough will now not open until 2025 as government ‘pauses’ schemePublished: 09 November 2022

Councillor Besford said: “We desperately need a new secondary school in Littleborough. For the past few years, hundreds of 11-year-olds have been sent out of the area for their education, separating friendship groups, communities and in some cases family members.

“This is wholly unacceptable. However, since the coalition government passed the 2010 Academies Act, councils are not allowed to build new schools.

“Back in 2019 the government approved a school in Littleborough but in the five years since this was approved, we’ve had six education secretaries which has held up much of the new build approvals. In September 2022, the latest education secretary, Gillian Keegan MP, put a pause on Littleborough’s new school to assess whether it was needed.

“After two more years of waiting, the council has been told this has finally been given the green light, but that the process now needs to start all over again.

“We’ve been told to expect a first intake in 2027. This dithering and delay from a government in chaos has caused avoidable and unnecessary distress to hundreds of families in Littleborough.”
 

Read more: Call to fast-track pitches after new Littleborough secondary school plans put ‘on ice’Published: 08 June 2023

According to a recent council report, St Cuthbert’s RC, Kingsway Park, Falinge Park, and Matthew Moss High offered additional places across the area in the last three years. For the last three years Wardle Academy has temporarily expanded its intake to take 50 additional places per year each year to support the local authority to manage the sufficiency of places.

The report went on to read: “2024/25 to 2026/27 will see the borough continue to struggle to offer sufficient good school places. This is likely to cause continued pressures on inclusion services and the Fair Access process.

“While there are insufficient good school places it is difficult to accurately forecast how many parents will choose to opt for out-of-borough private, grammar and CofE schools.”

Primary school place demand is not as much of an issue in the Littleborough area, but Councillor Besford explained that families may have to drive to separate schools in the morning to do the drop-off if siblings and cousins go to different schools. Children going further afield may also have to get two different buses just to get to school, the LDRS understands.

Councillor Besford also fears students are having to look at going all the way to Oldham for school; the pressure for places is so bad.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “New free schools such as Star Lakeside Academy are approved where there is a clear need for new places in a local area.

“Rochdale Council has provided assurances they are able to manage the need for places for 2024/25, and we will continue to work with the local authority and Star Academies to analyse local demand in Rochdale going forwards.”

Despite this huge demand for school places, not everyone in Littleborough is happy with the location picked for the new Star Lakeside Academy. Traffic problems are an everyday occurrence for local residents which they fear will only get worse when the new housing developments are complete.

These issues would be further heightened by a new high school, with parents doing the drop off adding more congestion to roads around the village’s centre, locals fear. Councillor Besford said he has been contacted by concerned residents, but explained the only plots of land on the table were across the way from Wardle Academy and the fields behind the primary school, the latter of which was chosen.

Councillor Besford added: “I understand that many are concerned with the proposed location for the new school, it is less than ideal. However, the council does not have other suitable sites and the government refused to buy any more land for a school.

“Therefore I’ve said for years now that I would rather have a school in a difficult location than no school at all. But ultimately, this decision will be taken by the government in consultation with whichever academy or trust gets the bid to build it.

“Local councillors won’t have a meaningful say either way. We continue to push the government to bring this forward as soon as possible.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter