Community School secures funding for sixth form

Sixth Form and Dance StudioBradley Stoke Community School has had its funding application for a post-16 centre approved by the Learning and Skills Council.

Plans for a two-storey sixth form centre, dance studio/gym and single-storey changing rooms were submitted to South Gloucestershire Council in July 2008 and received approval from planning officials in September 2008.

Writing in today’s school newsletter, headteacher Dave Baker says:

This is excellent news and means that we can now make definite plans for post 16 provision for our current year 10 students for September 2010. Building is likely to start before the end of this school year and discussions will continue with students and with our partners in the Concorde Partnership about which courses we will offer and which will be provided through the partnership. We will provide more details as soon as they are known.

Local politicians wasted no time in claiming credit for the success of the long-running campaign for a sixth form in Bradley Stoke.

In a joint statement, Conservative Councillors John Ashe, Brian Hopkinson, Rob Jones and Sarah Pomfret said:

“We are delighted to hear that one of our main election promises has secured the necessary funding. We have been strongly committed to achieving this for our town and importantly achieving it in time for when the first students will need it.”

Jon Williams, Local Liberal Democrat Councillor said:

“I’m sure the whole town will be delighted with today’s news and I hope that the building works can start quickly to ensure that the facility will open as planned for the first 6th Form students in September 2010.”

“I’m sure local political parties will try and claim credit for this latest development, but the truth is this facility has always been planned and land was set aside for this purpose in the original brief. As Chair of the Governors when the school opened I know there was already a dialogue going on in anticipation of this development and I have been supportive of it from the beginning. I have followed the progress of the funding bid and have questioned the Director of Children & Young People on a number of occasions to make sure that we were on track.”

“The school has now been awarded Specialist School Status, has recently had excellent SAT results and now we’re looking forward to seeing the first tranche of students sit their GCSEs. The whole town can be proud of what the staff, students and governors have achieved in such a short time.”

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