Plans for change

Latest news

November 8, 2023, update: Six months ago Central Bedfordshire Council’s new administration paused work on the three to two-tier transition programme for some areas to ensure the plans are affordable and deliverable. We committed to updating you in the autumn, so here is an update of the work we have been doing and what this means.

We remain totally committed to:

• supporting all three-tier schools across Central Bedfordshire to transition to the established Primary and Secondary school (two-tier) model
• investing in school maintenance
• providing more school places where needed
• creating specialist provision for children with Special Educational Needs

The Council is investing £140m in this work over the next few years.

We have taken a thorough look at the two-tier and new school place plans against the budget, while considering how many school age children we have in Central Bedfordshire in the coming years.  

You may be aware that birth rates are decreasing across the country, with the impact now being seen from the pandemic, while many residents are also tightening their belts and paying more for their bills.   We currently forecast our demand for school places for a rolling five-year period, and this will continue to be updated on an annual basis.  

Our plans need to reflect these changes.

Where we are now

Below is the latest information on the schools in phase one of Woburn Sands and the surrounding villages. In September 2022, Swallowfield Primary School and Fulbrook School both legally changed from the three-tier to the two-tier model of education. Construction works to provide them with the required accommodation is underway.

Phase 1

Fulbrook School

Work has begun on a new teaching block at Fulbrook School to expand its facilities after the transition from a middle school to an extended secondary in September 2022.

A ground-breaking ceremony, held in August 2023, officially marked the start of the construction stage on a new two-storey teaching block, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

Building works for the sports hall began in September 2022 and are expected to be completed by autumn 2023. The photo below shows an artist’s impression of what it will look like when it is complete. 

Additional teaching accommodation will be created to take children from the Phase 2 lower schools (Husborne Crawley, Ridgmont, and Woburn) into Years 5 and 6 from the academic year 2023/24 onwards.

School admission arrangements

Here is the pathway for each existing year group. If your child:

• is currently in Years 5 and 6 at Fulbrook they will stay there through to the end of their GCSEs, so parents will not need to do anything to apply for a place from Year 7 onwards
• is currently at a primary school and looking to attend Fulbrook from Year 7, then Fulbrook will have an entry point for Year 7 pupils from September 2024. The application process for the Year 7 places is not open yet for September 2024, but parents/carers will be alerted to this when the process commences
• is currently in Year 4 at a lower school, including Aspley Guise Village School, Woburn Lower, Ridgmont Lower or Husborne Crawley Lower, parents will need to apply for a Year 5 place for September 2023. One of these options is applying for a Year 5 place at Fulbrook. Parents can make an application no later than January 15, 2023. Please be reminded that applications received after this date will be processed in the late application round
• is currently in Year 3 at a lower school, including Aspley Guise Village School, Woburn Lower, Ridgmont Lower or Husborne Crawley Lower, parents will need to apply for a Year 5 place for September 2024. The current legal arrangement for Fulbrook means that there won’t be a point of entry into Year 5 at this school in 2024. However, the current consultation being undertaken by Fulbrook for their application to the Regional Director seeks to change this (see below). A decision is expected in early 2023, at which point Fulbrook intends to review its admission arrangements, to retain a Year 5 point of entry, beyond 2024. This would then support parents in applying for a Year 5 place at Fulbrook. The application process for the Year 5 places is not open yet for September 2024 but parents/carers will be alerted when the process commences
• is currently in Years 1, 2 or Reception at a lower school, including Aspley Guise Village School, Woburn Lower, Ridgmont Lower or Husborne Crawley Lower, we are committed to the extended secondary model for Fulbrook. It is a model we want to remain in place for the foreseeable future and that is why we are investing in the school estate to support this. Admission arrangements will continue as set out above

Swallowfield Primary School 

Swallowfield Primary School changed from a lower school to a primary school in September 2022. 

The permanent accommodation of a new teaching block was completed in the summer of 2023 so that the first classes could be taught there from September 2023.

A celebration event was held in November 2023 to officially mark the completion of the new teaching block, complete with pupil poetry readings, singing performances and a ribbon-cutting ceremony as the highlights.

Aspley Guise Village School

The planned transition of Aspley Guise from lower to primary school was unfortunately unable to proceed due to a number of challenging site and access issues that meant building the additional classrooms for Years 5 and 6 was not possible.

This means that Aspley Guise will remain a lower school for the foreseeable future, and pupils will need to apply for a place at a middle school when in Year 4. Fulbrook Secondary is an extended secondary school and has classes for pupils in Years 5 and 6.

Phase 2

Aspley Guise, Husborne Crawley, Ridgmont, and Woburn lower schools are unable to be developed into primary schools due to site constraints, therefore additional teaching accommodation will be created at Fulbrook School to take children from these schools into Years 5 and 6 from the academic year 2023/24 onwards. Pupils in Year 4 at these lower schools will need to apply for a place at Fulbrook or another middle school of their choice.

On August 1, 2023, Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Committee will be asked to approve the launch of the consultation on the future of Ridgmont Lower School.

A paper containing further detail, plus the recommendations for a public consultation, will be published on this website in the week commencing July 24th, and the same information will also be made available via the school, Council email bulletins, and media channels.