'New' Rushden primary opening in September 2023 after amalgamation of Tennyson Road Infant School and Alfred Street Junior School

A ‘new’ primary is opening in Rushden in September following amalgamation of two of the town’s schools.

Following the formal approval to amalgamate Tennyson Road Infant School and Alfred Street Junior School, a new primary school will open in Rushden on September 1, 2023 to meet the needs of the pupils and the wider community.

The two school sites will open on September 1 as a new primary school operating on both sites.

Any proposed change to this arrangement will be led by the governing body of the new school and be subject to a further consultation process.

North Northamptonshire Council is currently working with the shadow governing board and the school community on the processes required to achieve a smooth opening at the start of the 2023/2024 academic year, including choosing a name for the new school and creating a new school website.

Staff, pupils, parents, carers and the wider school community will be kept informed as milestones are achieved on this journey.

Initially to address several financial and operational challenges at Alfred Street and Tennyson Road schools, the council was approached by the governing bodies from both schools to support an amalgamation.

Council officers supported the request of the governing bodies and agreed that the proposed amalgamation would be to the benefit of children in the local area and continuing to ensure the best outcomes for children at the schools.

For the amalgamation to progress, one of the schools had to ‘technically’ close – in this case by the formal closure of Tennyson Road Infant School and by expanding the age range of Alfred Street Junior School to provide education for children aged three (nursery) to aged 11 (Year 6).

An initial consultation took place which showed majority support for amalgamation of the schools with a further consultation proposing the ‘technical’ closure of the Tennyson Road Infant School.

The preferred option of merging the two schools on to one site was made by 60 per cent with the same number choosing Alfred Street as their preferred site – only 28 per cent chose Tennyson Road.