School's new homes plan to pay off debt (From Bucks Free Press)
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Beaconsfield High School's new homes plan to pay off debt
1:32pm Friday 6th January 2012 in Education By Lawrence Dunhill
School's new homes plan to pay off debt
BEACONSFIELD High School is set to submit plans for four houses on its land – in a second bid to pay off its debt to a council.
The prestigious girls' grammar had previously planned to build 14 flats on the site of its former sixth form centre, but withdrew the scheme after fierce opposition from residents on Wattleton Road (see link below).
Executive headteacher Pete Rowe said: “We have held two consultation evenings and met with local councillors and whilst there will always be some local concerns, we have not met with the 'robust' objections our previous plan did.”
The school's financial situation hit headlines in 2010, after the Bucks Free Press revealed the previous leadership had entered into a £2 million building contract without sufficient funds in place to pay for it.
The ambitious project [including a new sixth form centre] was completed, but Buckinghamshire County Council had to bail the school out of the contract by allowing it to have a 'licensed deficit' of £1.3 million (see link below).
The ongoing deficit also appears to have prevented Beaconsfield High from applying for academy status. Every other grammar school in Buckinghamshire has already become an academy – freeing them from local authority control.
Mr Rowe added: “Sale of this land will allow us to clear our licensed deficit and it is likely at that point that we will consider a change of status to become an academy. That, of course, would be a decision for governors and our new headteacher to make in the future.”
Mr Rowe, who is also the head at Princes Risborough School, was brought in to oversee the management of Beaconsfield High, which was without a permanent headteacher (see link below).
Annette France, a 'National Leader of Education', has now been appointed to take over in April. She currently teaches at a school in Gloucestershire.
Comments(5)
readerabc
says...
4:48pm Fri 6 Jan 12
£1.3million deficit on 4 houses - need to make a gain of £325,000 per house!
hm so what does it cost to build a 4 bedroom house..... less than £150,000 i hope!!
Slacker
says...
2:28pm Sat 7 Jan 12
I don't understand how a school can get into so much debt if they have a budget. Very bad management at the school and bad handling by the education dept of the council?
squeezedmiddledad
says...
2:30pm Sat 7 Jan 12
Neighbours should be more concerned about the council's plans to withdraw most of the free bus travel, which will generate lots and lots of extra car traffic around the school. There's an open meeting at the school about it on Weds 18th Jan at 7.30pm, and there's still time to make a loud protest before the decision is made in February.
It affects all Bucks schools, and could be retrospective. If you're a parent and you think you'll still get a free pass for your child, check very carefully as most of the free travel will be going.
Lividov
says...
1:54am Sun 8 Jan 12
readerabc wrote:there are plenty of people in Beaconsfield who would buy property for investment. the housing market is just static at the moment because there are fewer first time buyers around - that's all. That said, for a school to have to sell it's land to pay it's debts is another example of "free markets" NOT serving the community or the education system in any way whatsoever.
but the house market is depressed - things are not selling!! so they could end up building new houses (spending more money) and not being able to sell them!!
£1.3million deficit on 4 houses - need to make a gain of £325,000 per house!
hm so what does it cost to build a 4 bedroom house..... less than £150,000 i hope!!
geoffW says...
4:40pm Fri 6 Jan 12
.
They should at least be taken to court for fraud.