A new £6 million Black Country free school could be based on the site of another school which is controversially due to close down this year.
Plans to create the free primary school have been given an initial green light by the Department for Education and council chiefs have revealed they are considering using the current site of The Coseley School as the base for the Collegiate Academy Trust.
The secondary school is due to close its doors for the final time in August, but was previously planned to reopen after three years.
Speaking to the Express and Star, Coseley East councillor, Star Anderton, criticised the announcement. She said:
"It's nonsensical and has upset a lot of families. Coseley just keeps losing. I would also ask if a free school is really the answer here as it takes everything out of the local authority's control.
"Also we need to know where all of the kids going to the free school will go to high school - I think we need a high school more. Closing Coseley School should never have happened in my view – it was short sighted and absolutely outrageous."
The Collegiate Academy Trust has been given approval to proceed to the next stage, which includes confirming a location for the school. Bosses have confirmed locations being considered include the grounds of the former Coseley School site. Tony Oakman, strategic director of people at Dudley Council, said:
“We are pleased that the grounds of the former Coseley School are being considered for this development. From the outset we always made a commitment to explore education provision for the site and we are therefore excited about the plans and what this could mean for the future.”
If approved, the school would be known as the Coseley Technology Primary and would be built with government funding and managed by the trust. The new school would have a two-form entry and is expected to house 420 pupils when full, while offering an additional 52 pre-school places.
The Coseley Technology Primary is one of three new free primary schools being developed by the trust with plans also progressing in Darlaston and Willenhall.
