Government deciding whether proposed Kettering boys' school should become mixed-sex

Government officials are looking at whether a proposed Kettering boys’ school should become mixed-sex after a fresh consultation.

Hanwood Park School for Boys, the first secondary school in the town in a generation, was given the green light by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2021 with hopes it would open from 2024.

It had been planned that the free school, at the town’s Hanwood Park development, would educate boys aged between 11 and 16 but many raised concerns and a petition against the decision was launched.

A new consultation was held earlier this year and the results are yet to be published, but they are largely expected to show that a mixed-sex education is the preferred option.

This week in the House of Commons the Government’s schools minister, MP Nick Gibb, confirmed they are considering the consultation’s outcome before making a decision.

Kettering MP Philip Hollobone had asked him: “Following the recent public consultation by the Orbis Education Trust, will the Government confirm that it is now their intention for the proposed new Hanwood Park free school in Kettering to be open to both boys and girls?”

Mr Gibb replied: “I am grateful for my honourable friend’s interest in ensuring that the new free school best meets the needs of pupils in his constituency, and indeed for his general interest in high-quality education in his constituency.

"The consultation closed on March 5, and we are currently considering the outcome ahead of reaching a decision on the school’s designation.”

The free school plan was first proposed in 2019 by Kettering’s Southfield School, which later became part of the Orbis Education Trust.

Parent Bernadette Leather moved to Hanwood Park in 2018. Her daughter would be directly affected if the school did open in 2024 as a boys’ school, as that is when she is due to start secondary school.

She previously said: "Hanwood Park was created as a self-sufficient community where everyone would be able to work, go to school and have access to all the facilities within 15 minutes of where they live.

"A lot of people moved to the area on the promise of these nearby schools and it was a shock to everybody that this was suddenly going to be a single-sex school. Everyone I have spoken to doesn’t want it to be single-sex. It just doesn’t make sense.”

A North Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “The consultation was conducted as a joint exercise between Orbis Education Trust and North Northamptonshire Council.

"All stakeholder views expressed have been submitted to the DfE, who remain the body that will make the ultimate decision as to whether the new school opens as a single or mixed sex provision.”

What is a free school?

Free schools are funded by the Government but are not run by the local authority. They have more control over how they do things.

They’re ‘all-ability’ schools, so can not use academic selection processes like a grammar school.

Free schools can set their own pay and conditions for staff and change the length of school terms and the school day. They do not have to follow the national curriculum.