Education

Heads put themselves forward for new Charvil primary school

By Jon Nurse
November 20, 2012

Headteachers of two schools in the north of the borough have put themselves forward to run a new primary school to be built in Charvil.

The heads at Sonning CE Primary and The Piggott School, in Wargrave, could take over the running of the new school, which is due to be built early next year.

Parents called for a new primary, rather than the expansion of current schools, to cope with the rising demand for places.

More than 120 parents viewed plans to build the school at two possible sites at Charvil Village Hall, in Park Lane, on Thursday, November 8.

The drop-in session displayed the results of previous consultation sessions which showed most parents ranked East Park Farm as their favourite option overall, with land behind the village hall a close second.

Rob Perry, 35, of Kinglsey Close, said: “It seems most people agree building a new school is the right idea, but they are saying ‘not on that site because I live there’.

“Someone’s going to lose out whatever way they go with it.

“It needs to be done and we need to get on with it.”

Terry Tan, 50, of East Park Farm Drive, said: “I understand they have to build a school somewhere, but I’m trying to understand which would cause the minimum disruption to traffic.

“Where they’re thinking of building in East Park Farm was designated as a recreational area but now they could build a school on the fields.

“Since I live on East Park Farm my preferred site is by the village hall, but I’m sure people near the village hall would say they prefer it at East Park Farm.”

But not all parents favour the shortlisted sites as traffic is still a major concern.

Barry Woods, of East Park Farm, said: “There is queuing along Park Lane between eight and nine in the morning anyway and people coming to drop off their children would only add to that.

“If this consultation is for a school to be built for September – what have they been doing the last five years?”

A site will be decided at a special meeting of Wokingham Borough Council’s executive on Tuesday, December 18, before building work is due to start in March.

Another drop-in session will take place at the village hall today from 3pm to 6.45pm.

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Not In My Back Yard is the primary objection from many to the proposed sites. A vibrant inclusive local community means that there has to be give as well as take. A school is needed. It will be an asset to the community. Oh, and it's also in my backyard.