8/9/2019 Letter to Parents - Future - 27 January 2009

1/1

27January 2009

Dear parents / carers

It has been a very exciting time for the future of education in Felixstowe after therecent cabinet decision to build a brand new high school in the town. We are writing toall parents to outline the advantages we see in a combined high school and to lay outthe immediate programme of events involved in moving towards this.

In our letter to you of the 22 September, we explained why it is our opinion thatsecondary education in Felixstowe should take place on one site through one school.Now that this is the final outcome of the consultation process, we would like toreiterate some of the key benefits of having a combined high school:

a larger school means that the pupils will be able to access a greaterrange of courses accessible on one site. The size of the school would ensurethat the provision would be suitable to a greater range of needs (SEN, giftedand talented pupils, etc). Learning Support facilities would be integrated onsite promoting inclusion;

we would like the school site to be a hub for local services such ashealth, social care, sport, police, etc. meaning greater multi-agency co-operation to remove barriers to learning for many pupils from deprivedbackgrounds;

the school would be large enough to compete with larger neighbourschools in surrounding towns. We want to encourage students to stay inFelixstowe for their education and secure the future of post-16 education inthe town. We intend to organise the school in such a way as there are smallerunits within the larger structure to counter any issues parents / carers may

have with the size of the school site.

As this will be a new school, the County Council has to run a competition to choose thegroup or organisation that will be able to offer the best educational opportunities for allyoung people in the area. As of 23 January, the competition process has begun whichwill take place over the next 4 months.

Following the end of the competition period, bids which meet the council'srequirements will be published along with notices proposing the closure of the twoexisting schools and the opening of the new school. From the date of these noticesbeing published there will be six weeks where you can give your views, in writing, tothe county council on the recommendations approved by the cabinet and the bidsreceived to run the new school.

There will be public meetings held during the six week period from the date of thenotices being published where you will be able to discuss the bidders proposals.

Many thanks to all parents and pupils who took part in the consultation process lastterm. Your contributions were valued and the outcome means that we can now moveforward to create something very special for future generations of learners inFelixstowe.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Cawley Mr BrennanHeadteacher Chair of Governors