A new Catholic Primary and Secondary School will be developed for residents of the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames following approval by Richmond Council at a Cabinet meeting on Thursdsay 24 May 2012.
The new Catholic co-educational schools are due to open on 1 September 2013.
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.
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 aged 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.
The proposal for the new schools will add greater diversity of choice for parents living in Richmond, enabling their children to receive local Catholic education from ages 4 to 18.
Bishop John Sherrington, Chairman of The Diocese of Westminster Education Commission, said:
“The Diocese of Westminster is delighted with the approval from Richmond Council for the development of a new Catholic Secondary and Primary school at Clifden Road, Twickenham. Working with our partners in the Archdiocese of Southwark, we are grateful to members of the Cabinet for finding a way to deliver on a long-standing manifesto promise to make a Catholic secondary school a reality.
My thanks also go to the very many people within the Richmond Catholic community and others who have done so much to bring this dream to fruition in order to further the common good.
We now look forward to working in partnership with the Borough to establish the school at the heart of the community in Twickenham.'
Paul Barber, Director of the Diocese of Westminster Education Service said:
'The approval of our proposals for new schools in Richmond is an exciting development in the history of Catholic education in the Diocese, including our first new secondary school in twelve years.
We want to continue to work with the whole community in Richmond to create a vibrant and inclusive Catholic school which is a full and active member of the Richmond family of schools.'
