Catholic secondary education for children in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames finally looks set to become a reality, as the borough enters the next stage of planning for two new Catholic schools.
A new Catholic co-educational primary and secondary school are due to open on 1 September 2013, subject to receiving the go ahead in the next stage of a public consultation.
The primary school will initially admit 30 pupils while the secondary school will begin with 150.
Each year more children will be admitted until the primary school reaches its full capacity of 210 and the secondary school reaches full capacity of 1050, including 300 sixth form students.
School site
Both schools will be situated at Clifden Road in Twickenham, on the site currently occupied by Richmond Adult Education College.
The primary school will receive children from four to 11 and the secondary, from 11 to 18.
Although Richmond already has a number of Catholic primary schools, the absence of a secondary school means that children have to travel outside the borough to receive Catholic secondary education in the state sector.
Diversity of choice
The proposal for the new schools will add greater diversity of choice for parents living in Richmond, enabling their children to receive a continuum of Catholic education from aged 4 to 18.
