Free Schools and University Technical Colleges: Closures
(asked on 8th March 2017) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which (a) free schools and (b) university technical colleges have closed since 2010; what the cost to the public purse was of each of those closures; and what each of those sites had been used for since each such closure.
Since 2010, six free schools and three university technical colleges (UTC) have closed. Please see list below for details of these confirmed closures and how the site has since been used.
The primary objective of the department when making a decision to close a school is to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for pupils and to secure value for money for the taxpayer. The department’s published accounts explain any assets that were written off because they could not be reused or recovered.
School Name | Type | Date closed | Details of how school site has been used since closure |
Discovery New School | Primary | 3/4/2014 | The site was acquired from Crawley Borough Council on a peppercorn lease. This site is now being subleased to another school, TBAP Residential Broadfield Park, which is part of TBAP Multi-Academy Trust. |
The Durham Free School | Secondary | 27/3/2015 | The temporary site for the school was acquired from Durham County Council on a peppercorn lease. Following closure the site was returned to Durham County Council. |
Black Country UTC | UTC | 28/8/2015 | The site was acquired from Walsall Council on a peppercorn lease. Following closure the site was returned to Walsall Council. |
Stockport Technical School | Secondary | 28/8/2015 | The site was acquired from a private vendor. Since the closure of Stockport Technical School the EFA has been exploring options to sublease the site. |
Dawes Lane Academy | Alternative Provision | 28/8/2015 | A site was not acquired for the school. Dawes Lane Academy offered alternative provision for pupils attending schools in the wider trust, School Partnership Trust Academies (SPTA). This provision was based in the trust’s existing buildings. |
Hackney University Technical College | UTC | 28/8/2015 | The site was acquired from Hackney College on a peppercorn lease. The site is currently being used as a temporary site for The Olive School Hackney. |
St Michael's Catholic Secondary School | Secondary | 31/8/2016 | The site was acquired from Cornwall Council. The site is now being used by the Cambourne International and Science Academy. |
Central Bedfordshire UTC | UTC | 31/8/2016 | The site was acquired from Central Bedfordshire Council on a peppercorn lease. The site is currently being used by Bedford College for former UTC students to complete their studies and by the Academy of Central Bedfordshire to expand its Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). |
Southwark Free School* | Primary | 31/3/2017 | The temporary site was acquired from Southwark Council on a peppercorn lease. The temporary site was returned to Southwark Council. The permanent site was acquired from a private vendor and will be used for educational purposes from 2018. |
* We have included Southwark Free School in this list. Formal closure is expected to be finalised at the end of this month and there are no pupils remaining at this school.