Application approved for new secondary school in Reigate & Banstead

The proposal by GLF Schools to open a new secondary school in Reigate & Banstead is one of 18 approved free school applications announced by David Cameron today.

GLF Schools will now work towards opening the new school in September 2017 and will liaise with the Education Funding Agency to identify an appropriate site for the new school.

Jon Chaloner, CEO for GLF Schools, said “We are excited to be able to go ahead with our plans for our new school. We know that the school is much needed by the local community and we are pleased to have the opportunity to build on our success at Lime Tree Primary School“.

The school has provisionally been named ‘Lime Tree High School’ but the final name will be decided once the location is known.

The application has been supported by the headteachers of the local secondary schools and further education providers, as well as officers from Surrey County Council. The next stage of the process will require GLF Schools to demonstrate parental demand for the school.

“We had a good response from parents via our website during the application process and we intend to engage much more closely with the local community over the next three months”, added Mr Chaloner.

Parents are encouraged to register their interest via the school’s website www.limetreehighschool.org

GLF Schools is a multi-academy trust which includes Salfords Primary School and Glyn School, a secondary school in Epsom which has been outstanding for the last six years.

The Trust was supported through the application process by national education charity New Schools Network.

Nick Timothy, Director of New Schools Network, said: “The application process to set up a free school is incredibly rigorous so it is a testament to the hard work of GLF Schools that they have been approved to open.

“This latest announcement means the total number of free schools open or approved to open has now exceeded 400 which marks an incredible milestone. Free schools are proving increasingly popular with parents and are providing good new schools places for their local communities.”