Consultation:
Braunton Academy School: proposal to expand to 840 places
Update 16 December 2022: The Regional Department for Education (DfE) Directors has approved the proposal to expand Braunton Academy School from 750 to 840 places from September 2023.
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Background information:
Please note this consultation is now closed.
Braunton Academy School, at the request of Devon County Council, is proposing to increase
capacity from 750 to 840 places from September 2023 to ensure there are sufficient school
places to support local need.
The Published Admission Number (PAN) will remain at 150 in each year group. However, the
permanent increase in capacity to 840 places will allow the School to admit 180 to some year
groups to support demand for places from in-area children when required.
The population of students in the catchment area feeder schools to Braunton Academy
School will exceed the Published Admission Number of Braunton Academy over the next few
years before numbers fall, but the permanent expansion will provide the capacity to support
this growth and further bulge year groups if required in the future.
There is a statutory requirement to ensure there is capacity in the Braunton area to meet known
and future pupil numbers including increased need from local housing development and future
local plans. Whilst there has been significant house building within Braunton over the last few
years, further growth is expected from current Local Plan allocations. North Devon District
Council has started to review the existing Local Plan which is likely to see future growth planned
for the area. Braunton Caen and Southmead Primary Schools have been expanded over the
last decade to meet the housing need and growing population, however, secondary provision
has not yet been expanded to align with primary school numbers and demand. Alternative
secondary provision is limited and far beyond the statutory walking distances for secondary
age pupils living in Braunton.
To accommodate a permanent increase to capacity, it is proposed to build a new two-storey
block consisting of 6 classrooms with toilet facilities at the side of the Year 11 playground
facing Southmead. This will involve the demolition of both bikesheds/storage areas with hard
play replacing the lost area for the main building project. New bike sheds/spaces will be built
near the Astro turf for approx. 80 bikes.
Devon County Council has provided funding of £166,000 to improve the sports changing rooms
and £150,000 for re-modelling works within the school to assist with growth. The capital costs of
the new classroom block would be funded by Devon County Council. The new classroom block
is subject to full planning consent and capital approval.
This additional capacity will mean that in the future as Braunton grows as a community, this new build will ensure that local children who wish to come to their local school will be able to do so as well as providing modern facilities suitable for delivering a 21st century curriculum.
As the School is an academy trust, the decision-maker for the expansion rests with the Regional Department for Education Directors (RDD), which is part of the Department for Education (DfE). The School will submit information gathered from this consultation to the RDD as part of its full business case application for the increased capacity.