Four new schools to be build in Peterborough amid oversubscription fears
The south of city is set to get new four schools
A forecast presented to Peterborough City Council has suggested school admissions in the city’s growing southern townships are likely to become oversubscribed in the near future.
At a meeting of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee yesterday (March 16), the head of the council’s Admissions, Attendance & Transport Service, Libby Walker, delivered a report outlining how pressures on school admissions will impact the city’s primary and secondary schools over the coming years.
Ms Walker highlighted Great Haddon and the Hamptons as areas where these pressures are most likely to be highest.
“The place pressures are all currently within Peterborough South Secondary,” she observed, adding there were also “place pressures for the Hamptons for Primary.”
The data used to create the report forecasts primary school admission figures across the city’s North, Central, West, Hamptons, Ortons, Rural East, Rural West, and Stanground/Fletton/Woodston areas. Secondary school admission figures are set within the North, South and Central planning areas of the city.
Ms Walker explained that birth rates and migration are key factors within the forecast:
“We can see that there is going to be huge developments within Hampton and Great Haddon – with the building of just over 7,000 homes – so we are expecting there to be more children within the city,” she said.
“We will be mitigating that because Great Haddon itself will run three primary schools and a seven formal entry secondary school so that will mitigate those place pressures.”
Great Haddon Secondary School (GHSS) is due to open in 2029. Similarly, the ground has already been broken on the 420-place Great Haddon Primary School.
“We’ve already gone out and started building the Great Haddon Primary School (1),” Ms Walker confirmed, “which will be receiving some children in September 2026.”
During discussions, Councillor Hemraj (Lab) shared her concerns about new schools opening in the south of the city leading to potential school closures elsewhere, citing the closure of Hereward Community College in 2007 as an example:
”Are we going to end up in a situation like that in years to come?” she asked.
“We’re certainly not looking to close any secondary schools within the city,” Ms Walker replied, adding: “We are looking at alternative ways to utilise schools should we need to.”