It was fantastic to bring the Education Secretary to Tipton St John Primary School last Friday.
We had a positive discussion on the school’s future away from its current flood-prone site with teachers and governors. The government has given the school’s rebuild priority status as part of the multi-billion-pound School Rebuilding Programme.
I wanted the school to remain in the village, but without a suitable site identified in Tipton St John despite numerous searches over the years, we should now work towards a deliverable safe new school as soon as possible.
The Department for Education’s preferred new site is Thorne Farm in Ottery St Mary, just over two miles from the school’s current site. An informal consultation for parents, carers and staff on its relocation will now take place.
Following my direct intervention, I’m pleased that assessment details of different sites considered for the rebuild are set to become public. The local community deserve nothing less.
I’ll continue to keep you all updated as this major project to build a new state-of-the-art school in our part of Devon moves forward.