Department for Education remains silent over ‘VIP lane’ free school coming to Walsall

The MP for Walsall and Bloxwich, Valerie Vaz, called on the Education Secretary to answer questions as she said the project ‘smacks of the covid VIP lane’.

The DfE approved the development of a proposed new secondary school in Walsall in 2017, and the Windsor Academy Trust has been chosen to deliver it.

Currently, Reedswood Park in Walsall is the preferred site for £50m investment, which is expected to provide over a thousand secondary and sixth form places.

While no final decision has been made about using the former golf course, the choice has proven unpopular with the local MP.

Ms Vaz said accessibility is a major issue for the site, and an appraisal review found nine other locations in Walsall that could be considered.

One of them is the former Sneyd Comprehensive School on Vernon Way, but the site has been earmarked for homes by Walsall Council.

Speaking at Westminster, Ms Vaz also raised concerns about a priority education investment area board.

She said: “A priority education investment area, an arm’s length body, was set up in 2022. It is not clear who chose the board or to whom the board was accountable.

“What is even worse is that a member of the trust tasked with delivering the school was a member of the now-disbanded board. I am sure you will agree, Sir John, that this smacks of the covid VIP lane.

“Is it a new school or a white elephant? Under the previous government, money was allocated for a new free school in my area. It was originally meant to serve the Blakenall area, but it was moved to Reedswood Park.

“I do not know how or why this trust was asked to deliver the project, because many local trusts and schools have suggested that they are in a position to expand their places if needed.

“I have consistently asked in letters whether there is a case for a new school, and based on the numbers, there does not appear to be.

“The cost of this school has been put at £50 million, even though there will be a surplus of school places by the time it is built. It will also be built in the wrong place.

“If other schools in the area say there is no need for a secondary school, and if the figures do not show a need for one—certainly not in the proposed area, which is wholly unsuitable—why is an arm’s length body not listening to headteachers, governors or me, as the area’s elected representative?

“Is it right that officials and arm’s length bodies are driving this project against government policy and then asking the Secretary of State to rubber-stamp it?

“We need reasons, which these organisations must give us when an eye-watering £50 million is being spent on one school while other schools are crying out for funding.”

A spokesperson for the Windsor Academy Trust said: “The application process for a proposed new secondary school in Walsall has been conducted in strict compliance with all Department for Education guidance, a commitment we have maintained since the initial stages in 2017.”

The Department for Education said it will not ‘provide commentary on individual schools at this time’.

A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “Walsall Council is working with the Department for Education to increase school places and manage long-term demand for the borough’s children and young people.

“A feasibility study was carried out by the Department for Education on the former Reedswood golf course in autumn 2023. The council is awaiting further updates from the feasibility report.

“If approved, the free school would bring approximately £45 million pounds worth of central government funding into Walsall, and the council would welcome this investment to support the education of local young people.”