School place planning in Stafford Borough
Stafford borough is made up of two distinct areas:
A two-tier education system, with primary (4-11 years) and secondary (11-18 years) schools, operates in Stafford.
In Stone a three tier education system, with first (4-9 years), middle (9-13 years) and high (13-18 years) schools, operates. Within Stone, there is a catholic primary (4-11 years).
Printable map of Stafford borough:
For the purpose of school place planning the borough district is broken down into smaller planning areas which are used to plan the number of school places required. These have been grouped based on the geographical location of schools, and by assessing pupil movement between schools and catchment areas.
Stafford has 33 primary schools & 6 secondary schools.
The relocation and expansion of St. Leonard’s Primary School will provide 15 additional Reception places each academic year from September 2023.
There are currently proposals to open two new primary schools within the next five years. The first will open at Stafford North Strategic Development Site in September 2024 (Beaconfields Primary & Nursery School) and the second at Land West of Stafford (Burleyfields) will open in September 2025. They will both provide an additional 30 Reception places each academic year from opening.
A new secondary school is currently proposed to open in the next five years, opening date to be confirmed. It will be necessary to provide additional capacity in existing secondary schools across the planning area until the new school is built.
Printable planning cluster map
Stone has 10 first schools, 1 catholic primary school, 2 middle schools & 1 high school.
An expansion of Manor Hill First School by 125 places was completed during the 2020/21 academic year and will provide 25 additional Reception places, increasing by one year group each year, with all year groups operational in September 2025.
In the longer-term additional school places may be required.
Printable planning cluster map
New schools
Within the borough two new primary schools, and 1 new secondary school are proposed to be delivered within the next five years:
Stafford: Beaconfields Primary & Nursery School (on Stafford North strategic development site) - Primary
A 1FE (210 place) primary school opening in September 2024. The Creative Learning Partnership Trust will be the sponsor for this new school. To apply for a reception place at this school please visit the admissions webpages.
Planning permission was granted to build the new school on 4 April 2023 under planning application reference SCC/22/0151/FULL. Further details of the school can be found on our planning applications website.
The Creative Learning Partnership Trust are looking forward to welcoming Nursery and Reception children from September 2024. You can find out more about the school on the school's website
Stafford: Land west of Stafford (Burleyfields) - Primary
A 2FE (420 place) primary school is being delivered for September 2025 but will operate as a 1FE (210 place) primary school until the requirement for further places is identified after the five-year period.
A public consultation on the opening of the new school was completed in October 2023, a summary of representations received has been published.
The planning application (reference SCC/23/0163/FULL-MAJ) for the new school has been submitted and further details of the school can be found on planning applications website.
We are now considering proposals from academy trusts to deliver high quality education at this school.
Stafford: North SDL Site - New Secondary School (11-18)
A 5FTE (900 places) secondary school is scheduled to open in the next 5 years, with the delivery date dependent on the construction rate and occupation of local housing development.
A further new school is expected to be delivered beyond the next five years. A 2FE (420 place) primary school is proposed to be delivered on a residential development to the north of Beaconside as part of the Stafford North Strategic Development Site.
School expansions
In addition to the new schools planned, the following expansion projects are currently proposed for the next five years
St Leonards Primary School
The project is to relocate and expand the school from its existing site to the Kingston Centre site, Stafford.
The school will enlarge in line with the demand for places from housing developments and will be undertaken in two phases. The first phase was to relocate the school from its current site to the Kingston Centre, and provide an additional 0.5FE (105 places). The second phase will provide another 0.5FE (105 places) in line with demand from further housing growth in the area.
Planning permission was granted for the works required to convert the Kingston Centre to a 1.5FE (315 places) primary school on 15 March 2022 under planning application reference SCC/21/0044/FULL. Further details of the school can be found on our planning applications website.
The relocation of the school was completed for September 2023.
Delivered projects
The following projects have been delivered since 2018:
| School | Places | Date completed |
|---|
| Bishop Lonsdale CE Academy |
105 |
September 2021 |
| Manor Hill First |
125 |
September 2020 |
| Alleyne's High School |
120 |
January 2019 |
| Walton Priory Middle |
120 |
September 2018 |