County council writes to 12,000 Tamworth parents

The letters detail proposals for the Building Staffordshire's Future programme that will bring around £100 million in investment to the Tamworth district.

Corporate Director, Peter Traves explains the proposals for Tamworth: "The plan is that Belgrave, Rawlett and Wilnecote become schools for pupils from 11 - 16 years old. They will serve roughly the same geographical area as they do now, and will be redeveloped to provide state of the art facilities.

"We want to develop Woodhouse into an Academy, on its current site for pupils aged 11-16 years old. The Academy will continue to serve the local area for generations to come.

"We want to build a brand new Sixth Form centre for the whole of Tamworth, on the site of QEMS, which will be run by the Academy Trust.  This will provide better facilities for pupils over the age of 16, and will allow for the provision of a wider range of courses and qualifications post 16 through the Centre, Tamworth & Lichfield College and in partnership with schools locally.

"The Torc Vocational Centre, Two Rivers Secondary Special School and Kettlebrook Pupil Referral Unit would all continue as they are."

Consultation on the proposals for Tamworth will take place between October and December 2008 and will be open to everyone to participate in; building work could begin in 2011. In the letter Peter Traves urged parents not to worry about any possible changes now or make any plans to move their children to another school.

Deputy Leader, Councillor Robert Simpson added: "There are a number of big issues that BSF will be able to address including facilities that are no longer fit for purpose, a lower than average number of students going into further and higher education and poor post-16 performance. We believe strongly that a radical solution is required to make sure young people in Tamworth achieve to their full potential.

"BSF will bring great improvements to Tamworth and I would encourage the community to embrace the changes this programme will bring as positive."