Hampshire County Council will consider later this month, a recommendation to relocate The Henry Cort Community College in Fareham to a new site in North Whiteley from September 2027, on Tuesday, 22 April. This has been brought forward from June to give the Henry Cort community earlier clarity about the school’s future.
The Local Authority’s recommendation to relocate the school follows significant development of the Whiteley area, with 2,000 homes already delivered and a further 3,500 planned to the north of the existing settlement. A new secondary school in North Whiteley is planned to meet the forecast demand for school places across the whole of the Whiteley area, once the development is complete. Subject to planning approval, the new school would be built with capacity for 900 places, with scope to expand to up to 1,200 in future, if needed. If granted planning consent, the new building would be fully funded by developer contributions and central Government, via the Department for Education.
While needed to meet future demand, the delivery of the new school in North Whiteley would also have a significant impact on Henry Cort, which currently takes pupils from across the Whiteley area. As more families in Whiteley would be expected to move their children to the new school in North Whiteley from September 2027, Henry Cort would be expected to see a corresponding reduction in pupil numbers and therefore in its funding from Government, which is allocated on a per-pupil basis. This in turn would lead to a reduced curriculum, staffing difficulties, an impact on children’s educational outcomes, significant financial challenges – and ultimately, an unviable future.
The County Council informally consulted with the public last year on potential options to reduce these impacts on Henry Cort. This was followed by a formal consultation earlier this year on the proposal to move Henry Cort to the new North Whiteley secondary school site from September 2027. Both consultations included two public drop-in events where local residents had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the school’s future.
Following careful and thorough consideration of the public’s feedback, alongside the other factors governing the wider education offer in Whiteley and Fareham, the school’s relocation is being recommended as the most viable option, ensuring sufficient school places and most importantly, a good quality of education and stability for all children across Whiteley and Fareham.
The Local Authority’s Children and Young People Select Committee will now meet on 22 April to pre-scrutinise the recommendations. Councillor Roz Chadd, the Authority’s Lead Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, will then consider the recommendation alongside the consultation feedback before making a final decision later the same day.