New Oxford secondary school given go-ahead

The Swan School will eventually cater for 1,260 students

A new secondary school in Oxford has been given the go-ahead.

The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed funding for The Swan School, which is due to open in September.

The school in Marston will eventually cater for 1,260 students, but will start with 120 Year 7 pupils. It will be the first new secondary school built in the city in more than half a century.

Head teacher Kay Wood called it "wonderful news".

"This is a vote of confidence from the DfE in our ability to deliver an exceptional new school for Oxford," she said.

"We were incredibly confident it was going to open, but it is one thing reassuring people, and quite another being able to tell them it is definitely going to happen.

"I understand why people might have had niggling doubts and I understand how frustrating and unsettling this has been."

Kay Wood will be head teacher at the school, which is being built in Marston

The free school, which is being set up to address a shortage of secondary school places in the city, will be run by the Oxford-based River Learning Trust.

It will first open in a temporary base next to The Cherwell School in Summertown before opening at its permanent home at the Harrow Centre in September 2020.

The school day will run from 09:15 to 16:45 in a bid to reduce congestion in the city.

Ms Wood said: "Parents should be reassured that the planning for the first year is not just starting now - it is well under way. We have key staff appointed and everything is very much on schedule.

"We are on track to hit the ground running in September, in terms of creating a school that everyone in Oxford can be proud of."

It will be the the first new secondary school built in the city in more than half a century