Decision details

The Council retains the legal responsibility for pupil place planning and has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for every child who is resident and requires a place. In order to achieve this the Council's priority is to ensure there is sufficient provision of school places in the right areas to meet need.

Due to an increasing demand for secondary school places in the Greater Bath Consortium (GBC) Planning Area St Mark's Secondary School have agreed to take an additional 18 students into Year 7 from September 2021. This will increase their Planned Admission Number (PAN) from 102 to 120 pupils.

To support this increase in pupils St Mark's Secondary School will carry out a capital project to provide an enhanced 3G AstroTurf sports pitch. This facility will provide a flat surface sports pitch which will enable the School to provide the PE curriculum and allow a wider range of PE activities such as football and rugby.

Failure to provide sufficient places in the right areas will result in the Council failing in its statutory duty; parents and children being required to travel out of their locality to attend another school; increased transport (revenue) costs and schools being unable to take local children.

To fully approve capital amounting to £98,000 from the provisional capital programme item Basic Needs - School Improvement/Expansion. Funding to be allocated to St Mark's Secondary School to carry out a capital project and permanently increase their Planned Admission Number (PAN) from 102 to 120 from September 2021.

Following consultation with the six Bath Secondary Schools bids were invited to provide additional pupil places supported by Council capital funding. A two phased approached was agreed. Phase 1 supported 4 secondary schools with capital funding and this project at St Mark's is the first of Phase 2 of a planned strategy to provide additional places in Bath.