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What would you do if your child couldn’t get a secondary school place anywhere near home? That is the reality facing an increasing number of Barnes families today. Livingstone Academy was planned to provide a much-needed secondary school for Barnes and the wider eastern half of Richmond borough. Its cancellation leaves families facing increasing pressure for school places, long daily commutes, and increasing strain on existing schools. Demand for secondary school places in this part of the borough already exceeds supply, and significant new housing developments will increase pressure further. We are asking Richmond Council to urgently engage with the Department for Education and make the case for Livingstone Academy to be reinstated, so that families have access to a high-quality local secondary school. Why Livingstone Academy matters Carlos grew up in Barnes and attended Christ’s School on Queen’s Road. When his family relocated to the UK, they quickly discovered how difficult it was to secure a secondary school place. Despite Barnes being home to many families, there was no nearby comprehensive secondary school within easy reach. Like many parents today, Carlos’ family waited anxiously for confirmation of where their children would be able to go to school. After weeks without confirmation of a place, Carlos’ mother and grandmother went directly to Christ’s School after the term had already begun. Christ’s was already heavily oversubscribed, but thanks to the understanding and support of staff, the school found a way to enrol them. But securing a place was only the beginning. Every school day required a 40–60 minute commute each way, usually on the crowded 33 bus during rush hour. Packed buses, delays and the closure of Hammersmith Bridge in 2019 made the journey longer and less reliable. For many families and pupils, education now comes with what feel like a “commuter tax”: hours each week spent travelling rather than studying, participating in after-school activities, or resting. Carlos is grateful for the education he received at Christ’s School. But if Livingstone Academy had existed at the time, his family like, many others, would have had a high-quality local school within their community. His story is not unusual. Every year more Barnes families face the same uncertainty. The impact on Barnes The shortage of secondary school places in the eastern half of Richmond borough has been recognised for many years. As shown in the borough’s own school map, only three state-funded secondary schools serve the entire eastern half of Richmond borough, including Barnes. Demand for places already exceeds supply. In 2021, 114 children in the eastern half of the borough were left without a school place on National Offer Day, even after Christ’s School created a temporary “bulge class” of 30 additional places (Achieving for Children, 2022). Applications to local schools demonstrate the scale of demand (Achieving for Children, 2022): • Christ’s School: 150 places, 816 applications • Grey Court: 240 places, 1,636 applications • Richmond Park Academy: 180 places, 535 applications This equates to more than five applications for every available place. Recent national policy changes will increase demand further. The introduction of VAT on private school fees is expected to push more families toward the state sector. In a recent conversation with a Barnes resident, a parent explained that the introduction of VAT on private school fees had forced their family to withdraw one of their two children from a local independent school. Existing schools cannot expand indefinitely. Christ’s School and Richmond Park Academy have limited space and cannot permanently increase their intake without affecting facilities and teaching capacity. At the same time, major housing developments, including the Stag Brewery site, Barnes Hospital redevelopment and Homebase site, are expected to deliver around 1,600–1,700 new homes in the area. These developments alone are expected to generate over 100 additional secondary-school pupils, further increasing demand for places. Without additional capacity, families across Barnes will continue to face long commutes, limited choice and increasing competition for places. Livingstone Academy was designed to address exactly this challenge. Our Request We recognise the importance of providing appropriate support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). However, this must not come at the cost of removing a long-promised secondary school that families urgently need. For years, the need for a new secondary school in the eastern half of Richmond borough has been recognised in council planning strategies. Yet delays and shifting priorities have allowed the project to stall while demand continues to grow. Livingstone Academy represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide the school places and modern education infrastructure our community needs. Barnes families, and beyond deserve a local secondary school. We therefore ask Richmond Council to make urgent representations to the Department for Education to secure the reinstatement of Livingstone Academy, ensuring that the children of our community have access to a high-quality local secondary school for generations to come.
Started by: Carlos Garofolin
Rejection Reason
The petition cannot be accepted as it relates to matters that the council cannot affect. The representation period has ended, and the council has already made a representation.
