Statutory notice for the proposed closure of Westcott Church of England School

Overview

It is with deep regret that the Governing Board of Westcott Church of England (CE) School, with the support of Oxford Diocesan Board for Education (ODBE) and the Council, is publishing a statutory notice to close Westcott CE School.

Notice is given in accordance with section 15 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and The School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of schools) Regulations 2013 that Buckinghamshire Council intends to discontinue the following maintained community school with effect from 31 August 2024:  

Westcott Church of England School, High Street, Westcott, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP18 0PH

The Governing Board of Westcott CE School, together with the ODBE and the Council, have considered the responses to the recent consultation on the future of Westcott CE School. The consultation ended on 13 March 2024. As it did not provide any viable options to support the school remaining open, we are publishing this statutory proposal for closure.

The main factors leading to the closure proposal are:

• low current and projected pupil numbers and a surplus of places in the local area
• falling number of births in Westcott village (c. 2 children a year based on birth figures over the last six years)
• Ofsted judging the school to be inadequate in June 2022
  • as a result, the Department for Education (DfE) informed the school that they must become an Academy and join a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) but no suitable MAT sponsor can be found
  • on the 30 April 2024 the DfE revoked the academy order on the basis that the school would not be viable as an academy, so allowing a statutory notice to be published proposing the closure of the school
• increasing deficit budget resulting in the school becoming financially unviable
• the lease on part of the school site ends in 2032 and the landowner has confirmed that they do not intend to extend the lease beyond its expiry date

This Notice is an extract of the full proposal. A copy of the full proposal is available to download below. Alternatively you can request a copy via email westcottceconsultation@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or by post: The School Commissioning Team, Buckinghamshire Council, 1st Floor, Walton Street Office, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UZ.

Within four weeks of the date of publication of this notice, any person may submit a representation.

Related documents

Before you submit any representations, please have a look at the following documents:

• Statutory notice for the proposed closure of Westcott Church of England School (PDF 0.16MB)
• Statutory proposal for the closure of Westcott Church of England School (PDF 0.25MB)
• Summary of comments made in the first stage consultation to close Westcott Church of England School (PDF 0.52MB)

How to make a representation

You can submit a representation in the following ways:

• Complete the online survey using the link at the end of the page
• Complete, and return, a printed version of the survey (PDF 0.24MB)
• Email us at westcottceconsultation@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• Write to us at The School Commissioning Team, Buckinghamshire Council, 1st Floor, Walton Street Office, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UZ

If you have any questions about this activity, please email us at westcottceconsultation@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

Please tell us your views by 11:59pm on Tuesday 4 June 2024.

What happens next

Westcott CE School Governing Board, together with the Council and the ODBE, will consider all the responses we receive.

The Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services, will take the decision on the final outcome within 2 months of the end of the representation period.

If the decision is taken to close the school, it is proposed that this would take effect on 31 August 2024.

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If you have questions about data and privacy, please email us on dataprotection@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. Or write to our Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.