A NEW primary school for Launceston will most likely open in September 2019, a meeting in the town heard last week.

Known locally as ‘Hay Common School’, when built, it will be part of the Hay Common development, where house building by Taylor Wimpey is currently underway.

Chief executive of the Launceston College Multi Academy Trust (MAT), Jack Jackson, attended the meeting of the Community Network Panel in the town hall last week. The MAT was successful in its application to the Department for Education (DfE) to run the school as the ‘Launceston College Primary Campus’.

At the meeting, Cornwall councillors, town and parish councillors as well as members of the public were able to put their questions to Mr Jackson, Cornwall Council’s head of education access and sufficiency, Sharon Hindley, and Matthew Brown from Cornwall Council’s planning department.

Mr Jackson explained the college applied for free schools funding for the primary school, and this funding means it must be a two-form entry school, with 60 pupils per year group.

He said: “There is a 75% fail rate on these applications; we were in the 25% who were successful.”

He said the whole school will be built with 14 classrooms prior to opening for the reception year group, and the school will be populated as pupils join.

Mr Jackson said when he spoke to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), the funding arm of the DfE, they said ‘progress had moved faster than expected’.

He added there is a ‘small chance’ the school could open in September 2018 ‘if things continue to go well’, adding: “It’s far more likely than not it will be September 2019.”

Some raised concerns about what the effect may be on the existing town primary schools and village schools. Launceston’s mayor Margaret Young said: “I can see that the small primary schools are going to suffer quite badly with this. It’s a very exciting venture but I think some of the small primary schools will be swallowed up because people will want to bring their children to this very exciting new school.”

Mr Jackson said he had spoken to the CEO of the Andaras MAT, which includes St Stephens and Windmill, from whom he ‘received support’.

He added: “The three town schools do a fantastic job for our community. There will be a choice. What we have been talking about for years, not having primary capacity in our town, will be addressed.”

Mr Jackson also said the new primary school would differ to the existing school in some aspects, with a longer school day to be able to focus on literacy and numeracy, but not at the expense of other subjects.

Ms Hindley said: “Rural schools are critically important across Cornwall. We are working to sustain the small schools. The council works very closely with independent schools, clusters and formal MATs to ensure schools provision.”

Ms Hindley explained that if the school had gone ahead without the college’s involvement, it would have been built with four classes first, with Cornwall Council then having to find funding for the extra classes. She added: “In terms of is this a good thing, oh my goodness, it’s a really good thing for Launceston.

“We’ve got to look at September 2017 through to next year’s intake. There will be pressure on places.”

Mr Jackson was asked if there would be enough space at Launceston College for those attending the new primary school.

He said: “We have got space on the Launceston College site to create enough space for those children as they move through.”

Cllr Young raised another concern — the infrastructure of the growing town. She said: “The infrastructure of other services in the town should be considered at the same time by Cornwall county council, I’m thinking of medical services, which are bursting at the seams actually. I love the thought that Launceston’s expanding, but with it we need jobs, houses… There should be a package and Cornwall Council needs to steer that.”

Mr Brown said: “We have got 1,800 targeted to be delivered in this area [by 2030]. It didn’t take a genius to find out with that level of growth you need more facilities in that area.

“What we have in the Launceston area at the moment is proposals that go beyond the planning period [2010 to 2030]. It’s one of the towns where we are saying there is a future direction of growth, where do we go next?

“Beyond schools there is a lot of other infrastructure that needs to be improved. Feasibility work is being complete at the moment in draft form so it can come to yourselves, people who know the area far better than officers do.”

Town Councillor John Conway said: “I’m congratulating the college on this thing which is going to be great for Launceston. What Launceston College is doing is brilliant really, making Launceston an educational place of excellence.

“People who live in Launceston are fully in their rights to have their children educated in the town where they live, not bussed out to schools.”