We are heading into (or are already in) a School place crisis on Middlemore.
PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS AND JOIN THE DEBATE, I AM SEEING THE COUNCIL AGAIN THIS FRIDAY (Rick)
Anthony writes…
My children go to the Grange and a lot of children living here do, however thats not close by. It is a concern and i believe they pushing for Southbrook as people do not choose that school as a choice . i heard that last year they had a very low intake! i do not think it is right
It seems that this year there have been a lot of siblings which has affected the allocations. We have a friend who lives on Ashby fields who did not get a place there? You had to live within 400 metres to get in this year, which excludes everyone on Middlemore too.
The Grange is a very good school – but it’s nonsense that it’s now the only choice. There are health care experts that blame childhood obesity on the fact that children do not walk to school anymore. What happens if you don’t drive or have a car. If you live further than 2 miles from your linked school they will provide transport – guess what, Middlemore is just inside that range.
A school would have been a great way to bring Middlemore together as a community. The event last week showed how many families have moved onto the estate, but have had little or no contact with their neighbours. A school could have benefitted all – space for toddler groups, evening classes, health visitor clinics, brownies, art classes etc. Such a wasted opportunity.
We have lived at Middlemore for over five and a half years, and one of the deciding factors in choosing Middlemore was the planned infant / junior school.
It is very disapointing that the building did not go ahead I vaguely remember reading something about it not happening because other schools were planned in new developments (which have not yet been given planning consent).
My son goes to Braunston school which was my prefered choice, I know of four families on Middlemore whose children attend Braunston, they all seem happy with their choice.
Walking to school obviously isn’t an option, and dropping off at school isn’t without it’s problems as, as a parent for the first couple of years you are expected to hand your child over to the teachers in the morning, not drop them off at the school gate, so this means trying to park which isn’t the easiest thing to do.
I would love a school on Middlemore and agree that it would be a community facility, with many potential functions.
We lived on a new estate in Hampshire for a number of years which gradually grew in size, we started with a community centre in a large house which was lent to the community by one of the developers, the village shop was in a portakabin, and we had a g.p practice in another portakabin, if you go to the same estate now it has permanent shops, takeaways, g.p surgery, school, community centre and numerous other going concerns, the only thing that wasn’t completed but planned was a church, however the site is marked by a sign saying “coming soon”.
As the building on Middlemore is I believe meant to be continuing for a few more years yet, the need for a school is only going to increase, perhaps we need to find out how many families will be requiring school places over the next few years as I know there are a considerable number of people with babies and toddlers.
It is only fair that people moving to Middlemore are aware of this potential difficulty in securing a prefered school place, I don’t suppose this is part of the sales pitch by the developers sales team.
We have a 7 month old and moved in to a house opposite the school site in November. It would be absolutely fantastic if the building of school was to commence in the next couple of years.
We did not move to Middlemore to send our daughter to Southbrook or Grange – I grew up in and around Daventry and know the schools fairly well. We really want her to go to Welton or Braunston, but if Middlemore Primary becomes a reality, then we would happily send her there. I hear Bellway have bought a couple of plots of land and the others are out to tender at the moment so within 2-3 years, we could see a huge influx to Middlemore and increased pressure on the existing schools in Daventry. I therefore think that there has to be, at some point, the commencement of a new school project to relieve some of the pressure on the schools in the area and ensure that people who have paid good money to live on Middlemore, have facilities to match.
I totally agrre with all the comments. Middlemore needs a school. We have a daughter who starts school next year and hell will freeze over before I send her to Southbrook. With all the investment on the site, persons moving to the area, the council needs to get their finger out and sort this.
Unfortunately, their argument is that there are spaces within Daventry schools to cover the increase in children. But not the schools closest to Middlemore.
A further addition to this issue, I note that ALL the lights on the main road between Middlemore and the rest of Daventry have been turned off.
Not only are you having to walk children to school down a very small footpath on a very busy road, but in the winter, you’ll be doing it in the dark too…!
Just an update from us – we won a school place at Staverton through appeal. There were over 350 appeals across the county this year for reception places. They have only been able to schedule 250 before the end of July. The appeals for Welton will not be heard until August. The system this year has fundamentaly failed. The right to have an appeal heard within 40 days has been waived by the county? We are aware of families just moved onto the estate – and again their children cannot be accomodated in any school less than 2 miles away.
And now the land allocated for the school, has been re-allocated for house building (Homes being built by the council no less to rent out at commercial rates to make money! Anyone think the wool is being pulled over our eyes here!! )
http://www.daventryexpress.co.uk/news/local/new_homes_on_land_earmarked_for_school_site_1_3346716
Who the effin hell do they think they are? Everyone is CLEARLY against this, hence the point of this website/post. I’ll cancel my council tax DD if this goes ahead and make them work to get it off me….disgraceful and totally opposed.
And to add insult to injury I see that a 1,000 home development on Monksmoor has just recently been approved with, wait for it – a school! The walks down Northern Way (in the dark!) will be interesting unless by miracle the buses go that way. Final nail in coffin for school on Middlemore?
http://www.daventryexpress.co.uk/news/local/1_000_new_homes_to_be_built_in_town_1_3384229
To be honest we are looking at selling and moving on.
With what seems like 50%+ of the houses around us being rented out rather than lived in by the owner there’s no respect for the area, renters just trash it and move on as they only rent along with now no school development and no high speed broadband it just doesn’t seem like Middlemore is worth trying to make homely.
if everyone writes to the council they must respond, enough weight of public opinion will make them review the situation. if they say no and everyone rolls over then they will go ahead. if everyone complains and makes life difficult for them then they may change there minds. write to them get your friends and neighbours to write.