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23
Nov 2021
Consultation agreed over merger of two Harrogate primary schools
Plans to merge two Harrogate primary schools have taken a step forward today after county councillors agreed to move proposals to the consultation stage.
North Yorkshire County Council met today to discuss a proposed merger for Woodfield Community Primary School and Grove Road Community Primary School, with parents set to be asked for their views when the consultation opens on December 2.
The schools sit just half a mile apart, but have very different Ofsted ratings, pupils numbers and finances.
Grove Road is rated as “good” by Ofsted inspectors, while Woodfield is judged “inadequate” and currently in special measures.
Woodfield has also failed to find an academy trust willing to take it over.
Due to pupil numbers determining the level of funding that a school receives, it is forecasting to be almost £333,000 in debt by 2024 due to the 49 pupils currently enrolled.
At Grove Road, the school is currently operating at capacity with almost 300 pupils and is forecasting a budget surplus by 2026.
Speaking today, councillor Patrick Mulligan, executive member for education and skills at the county council, described the proposed merger as an “exciting opportunity” for both schools and said the authority would listen to all comments during the consultation:
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A new leadership team was appointed at Woodfield when it was placed into special measures in January 2020 and an Ofsted monitoring report has since said “effective action” is being taken to remove the worst-possible rating.
However, Cllr Mulligan said these arrangements were only ever temporary and that the merger has been proposed as the school still faces an “uncertain future”.
He said:
The consultation will run until January 22 next year before a final decision is made by the county council three months later in April.
If approved, the merger would create a single primary school operating on both school sites from September 2022.
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