Little Harrowden Primary School officially applies to relocate to Glenvale Park

Little Harrowden Community Primary School has formally expressed an interest to move to the vacant site at Wellingborough’s Glenvale Park, despite major pushback from parents and locals.

North Northants Council (NNC) recently asked local schools who are eager to move to the new facility to apply for relocation, and after reviewing responses to a questionnaire sent to parents and carers, Little Harrowden’s primary school trustees have outlined the reasons for its potential move.

On July 3, the school penned a letter informing interested parties of its decision to apply for a move.

A passage from it reads: “Whatever happens, our school is and will continue to be special and unique because of the people, pupils and families who support it, not the walls which surround it.”

It insists that the facilities at Little Harrowden Community Primary School, which received a good Ofsted grade after a January inspection, are ‘poorer than you would expect to find in most English primary schools’.

It also notes a lack of a dedicated library, limited space for SEND pupils, and small classrooms to accommodate the 189 students currently enrolled at the school.

Issues raised in the document sent to parents expanded on the need for a new building, as Little Harrowden Primary’s current occupancy is a Victorian construction, and ‘built for education in a different time’ and that it is ‘striving to exceed expectations and prepare pupils for life in modern Britain, at a site designed for education in the 19th century.’

Travel has also been a point of contention, as the new facility in Glenvale Park may prove to be more complicated for pupils who walk to school.

A campaign for a new pedestrian crossing in Little Harrowden’s Main Street was sent to parents on June 9, which would have improved the safety of those commuting by foot, albeit at the cost of parking limitations. However, with the Glenvale Park expression of interest, it is unknown if this development will continue.

Parking will be expanded should the relocation take place, as there is a community car park near the building as well as a drop-of point outside. The letter confirming the school’s application said that, while there will ‘never be a perfect solution’, it is ‘confident’ that the change would provoke safer transitions.

The possibility of purchasing a minibus will be explored, transporting pupils back to the village so they can continue their extra-curricular activities.

The application does not guarantee that Little Harrowden Primary will relocate, and should it be unsuccessful, it will remain at its current location.

The decision has not come lightly, however.

“It feels like we are just not being heard”

Before any decision to formally apply to take up residence in the Glenvale park facility, the school informed parents and carers of its initial interest.

This prompted concerned locals to launch a petition, which has currently amassed more than 850 signatures (as of July 4), with Wellingborough mayor Valerie Anslow also having raised concerns.

At the time, she said: “If Little Harrowden loses its school, you lose an important part of the heart of the community.

"The way forward is to build more homes that are owned and managed by the local authority, rather than selling off land to others to develop.

"How can the plans for this development be so wrong.”

Upon learning of Little Harrowden Community Primary School’s formal application to move, Caroline Aldridge, a parent of a pupil at Little Harrowden Community Primary School, said: “I, along with many other parents, am against this move for my own personal reasons, including uprooting the children from a happy and calm environment.

“I feel like our children’s future education is at risk along with many others.

“The upheaval while they fill the school and finish it will have a detrimental effect on our children.

“It feels like we are just not being heard.”

Little Harrowden to Glenvale Park – A timeline

Following the construction of Glenvale Park Primary to coincide with the 3,000 homes also being built, it became clear that the demand for school places won’t meet the requirements needed for Department of Education funding.

In what leader of the council Jason Smithers called ‘a clever solution’, North Northants Council began accepting expressions of interest form local schools which have ‘poor or unsuitable accommodation’ to relocate to a purpose-built facility from September 2024; the vacated smaller site could be re-purposed for ‘other educational uses.’

On NNC’s advice, Little Harrowden Community Primary School reached out to parents to inform them of their initial interest in moving to the aforementioned building, which can accommodate a total of 420 pupils.

On the same day (June 19), an online petition was started by a parent to express their concerns about the move.

In response, on June 28 the school penned a letter acknowledging the concerns by stating: “We understand that this process has resulted in anxiety for some, however it was important we gather views and questions.”

The next morning, recipients challenged the points made in the update, making it clear that ‘Glenvale Park Primary school is not the preference for the majority.’

Despite these objections, Little Harrowden Community Primary School sent out a final letter on July 3, making it clear that it has formally applied to move to the new estate.

What happens next?

Should the application be successful, the pupils and staff would move to Glenvale Park in time for the 2024 academic year.

An NNC panel decision will take place during the week beginning July 17 to determine each application’s suitability, followed by returning to the Executive in September, before the process is fully completed around December 2023.

In the meantime, Little Harrowden Community Primary School will be hosting two drop-in sessions with the intention of allowing interested parties to review the plans and speak directly with the school.

The sessions will be held on Thursday, July 13 at 8.30am for one hour and later in the day from 5pm until 6.30pm.

In one of the final paragraphs of the letter, Little Harrowden Primary reiterates: "Please know that this decision has not been made lightly.

"However, we believe that a move to a new site is in the absolute best interests of the pupils and families at our school.

"For all the reasons highlighted above, this was an opportunity we could not ignore.”

It is not yet clear how many applications from other schools NNC has received.