MPs demand more Kingston schools (From This Is Local London)

School places shortage: MPs demand more Kingston schools

7:10am Monday 16th February 2009 in News By Mike Didymus

Elementary need: Protestors claim there is an obvious shortage of primary school places in the borough

Kingston will need to build two new schools to deal with the ongoing primary school places shortage, according to local MPs Edward Davey and Susan Kramer.

More than 200 pupils were initially left without a primary school place last year as usually reliable calculations by the council proved woefully inaccurate - and the number is set to jump to nearly 300 this year after another boost in applications.

Temporary ‘bulge’ classes have already been planned for five schools in the borough, with council negotiations under way for another four to be added in shortfall hotspots such as north Berrylands in Surbiton.

Although a final decision on locations is not due until the end of the month, Kingston and Surbiton MP Edward Davey said he was confident parents’ concerns would be met following a meeting with council officers.

But he added the temporary classrooms could not be a long term solution, and called for a major consulatation this year to look at options for new school sites.

He said: “Last year I called for a new school, and not everybody took me seriously.

“I think I have been proved both right and wrong - right in that we need a new school, and wrong in that we need more than one.

“This is not a blip, it’s a trend. This is not a minor change, it’s a major change.

“I’m convinced the local authority are really beginning to get their act together. I’m more worried now about central government help.”

Mr Davey said the crisis was adding about £300,000 a year to the council’s education budget, with future projections of application numbers meaning “it’s only going to get worse”.

Richmond Park MP Susan Kramer, whose constituency covers the northern part of Kingston borough, said the MPs would be forming a united front in lobbying the government for financial aid..

She said: “This is not a single borough problem, it’s a matter of significance across the London boroughs.

“It’s fine if you have got two or three more kids, and you can probably cope with it if it only happens once, but when this becomes an annual thing it’s a really serious problem.

“What we are getting is a phenomenon we can’t explain.

“Our birth rate is nowhere near over the top, but out number of children is, so it can only be from people moving into the borough.”

Mrs Kramer added the MPs had both lodged identical parliamentary debates on the subject, to increase the chances of the issue coming before the Commons.

PROTEST

Surbiton parents were out in force on February 7 to lambast Kingston Council over their handling of the ongoing primary schools crisis.

Although mollified by the council’s commitment to provide bulge classes in areas they are needed, many families remain frustrated that so many extra children are to be squeezed together on existing sites.

Parents took to the iron bridge at the junction of King Charles Road and Cranes Park - an area they say is the heart of a shortage hotspot - to launch a petition calling for the council to provide places for Surbiton children this year, and take action to solve the crisis for 2010.

Helen Whately, prospective Conservative party parliamentary candidate for Kingston and Surbiton, was out with the protesters to help get their message across.

She said: “This is taking liberties with one of the most important responsibilities of local government - providing children with an education.

“They must not let this happen again in 2010.

“I expect several schools will have to expand permanently, but that alone is unlikely to be enough.

“I think Surbiton needs a new primary school.”