Campaign to open new school in Burnham discussed during Parliamentary debate

The campaign to open a new secondary school in Burnham was raised during a Parliamentary debate in the House of Commons this week.

Joy Morrissey MP for Beaconsfield, (including Burnham) raised the issue after securing a debate on education provision in South Buckinghamshire on Tuesday evening.

During the debate, the Conservative MP was joined by Slough’s Labour MP Tan Dhesi, who has been working alongside her and the Burnham community to push for a new school to be delivered in the village.

The long-running campaign started after the E-ACT Burnham Park Academy in Opendale Road – the village’s only non-selective secondary school – closed its doors in 2019 due to a decline in pupil numbers.

Both the Conservative and Labour MPs met with stakeholders in Burnham last year to discuss the next steps.

During the debate, Mrs Morrissey said Burnham is the only place in Buckinghamshire ‘that lacks a nearby secondary school alongside its grammar school’.

She called for Catherine McKinnell, the Minister for School Standards, to join her, Mr Dhesi and the community to help make the new school a reality.

Mrs Morrissey added: “The people who lost out in the school closure are the young people of Burnham and the surrounding areas.

“Moving forward, we want to see that problem rectified.

“Since 2019, the young people of Burnham who are not in selective education find themselves caught in excessively long journeys to schools in Maidenhead and other parts of

“It is unfair for our residents, and it is having a significant effect on their mental health, physical wellbeing and finances.

The situation is absurd and almost intolerable. We have a site that housed a secondary school up until 2019, and it is now hosting the occasional Netflix filming.

“Meanwhile, young people waste hours travelling to school.”

Both Mrs Morrissey and Mr Dhesi said the closure of the former E-ACT Burnham Park Academy was a ‘mistake’.

Mrs Morrissey said that instead of ‘serious efforts’ being made to turn the school around ‘it was allowed to fail’.

Mr Dhesi said: “Obviously the numbers must stack up, but does she agree that it is vital to recognise the importance of children receiving good-quality, local school education?

“Is it not unfair for my Slough constituents and hers to have to travel great distances at great expense, just to get that education?

“Due consideration should be given to that when determining whether a new school is required in Burnham.”

Ms McKinnell said: “This Government recognise how important it is that every child gets a great education at a good school in their area.

“We work closely with our local authority colleagues to achieve that, including in Buckinghamshire.”

She added that when councils experience difficulties, the department offers advice and support, including ‘through the pupil place planning adviser’.

“I hope the honourable lady [Joy Morrissey] finds it reassuring that all that support is in place.”

During the debate, Mrs Morrissey paid tribute to the campaign group and families pushing for the new school, stating they are ‘at the epicentre of what makes community campaign groups so inspiring’.

She added: “I thank the local councillors, parish councillors and the honourable member for working together to put the needs of our residents first.”

In her concluding remarks, Ms McKinnell said she appreciates the case Mrs Morrissey has made for a new school but added that it is ‘clearly’ Buckinghamshire Council that the case must be made to.

“The Government will continue to work with our local authority colleagues, who have a statutory duty to ensure that enough mainstream school places are available,” she added.

In a statement in October, Councillor Anita Cranmer, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for education and children’s services, said: “The closure of Burnham Park Academy was a decision taken by the Secretary of State, not the council, because of falling educational standards and decreasing student numbers.

“Even before the school’s difficulties many families in Burnham chose to send their children to a secondary school in Maidenhead.

“It is worth noting that there are also two other secondary schools in Buckinghamshire within five miles of Burnham.

“To open a new school the council would have to justify a need to the Department of Education.

“This action has been undertaken with the DfE and it is clear to all that from current data there are enough school places already to meet demand in the Burnham area and a new school would either not have sufficient pupils to remain viable or negatively impact on the intake of neighbouring schools.”