To say that the King Alfred School in Highbridge is between a rock and a hard place is an understatement. It is the only secondary school for Burnham-on-Sea and surrounding villages. The school’s popularity means that the number of students still climbing causes oversubscription. As a result, many students are now required to make lengthy journeys to study at schools in Bridgwater.
Somerset Council has since issued a press release stating that it has no plans to enlarge King Alfred School. This decision comes in direct contradiction to the growing need for secondary education in the region. The council has not disclosed the costs associated with transporting additional pupils to Bridgwater, leaving many parents concerned about the impact on their children’s daily routines.
Worsening safety concerns have only added to the burden. Consequently, Haygrove School in Bridgwater completely closed down in August 2023. The Department for Education is already urgently stepping up efforts to construct a replacement school. They intend to build it instead on adjacent land at Queenswood Farm. Until that school is up and running, families are out there still trying to navigate what it means to live in an oversubscribed education system.
Six children from the King Alfred catchment area would have secured places at Haygrove School had they applied before the deadline. Instead, these pupils are now having to endure up to two hours of bus rides each way—five days a week—to get to secondary school. An overwhelming number of parents in Taunton are disillusioned by this year’s allocation process. Their frustration points to a broader issue with secondary school capacity in the area.
Somerset Council had 17 late applications from children already living in the full King Alfred catchment area. A spokesperson for the council stated, “We’ve had 17 late applications from children within the King Alfred catchment. Six of these children would have secured a place at the school, had they applied before the deadline.”
Concerns about secondary school availability were echoed by Bill Revans, Somerset Council leader, who remarked, “Secondary sufficiency does concern me – I know a number of Taunton parents were disappointed with the place allocation this year. We need to track the numbers going forward to ensure we have sufficient places.”
Forecasts indicate that entry groups for King Alfred School will gradually reduce over the next four years, suggesting that while current pressures are significant, they may not be sustained in the long term.
This attempt appears to have failed, and plans are still underway to build a new school in Taunton. This new school not only will provide primary and secondary education on the same campus, but is located within the Monkton Heathfield urban extension. This initiative would help take the pressure off overcrowded schools that already exist, but when it would be completed is anyone’s guess.
