On the 27th September, parents at the High Weald Academy were shocked to hear the news that the school would be closing down and all pupils would have to find an alternative school very quickly, with year 10s having to move by Christmas. There was no consultation with parents prior to this news, and it came as a great shock to many. 

The High Weald Academy is a rural secondary school which caters for pupils in the surrounding villages, all of which are growing in size. It had a farm on site, access to a large woodlands and has also undergone a multimillion pound renovation in which the entire school was rebuilt- this only opened in January 2020 (right before lockdown). 

One of the main reasons for the closure is that there are currently low pupil numbers; the school has a capacity for over 1000 students, however is currently working at about a third of this capacity. The proposal however, outlines that the entire school will shut and instead a SEN school will be put in place, which will accommodate just 140 students, significantly less than currently on role. The combined math proves that the schools could in fact be together on the same site, and still offer sufficient space for increasing pupil demand when new houses are built. Furthermore, the LAT have expressed concerns over the OFSTED reports, however in the most recent visit it was concluded that the school was improving. A survey taken of 13 ex-pupils also concluded that all were either satisfied or highly satisfied with their GCSE results. 

The news has been extremely distressing for both pupils and parents, as well as prospective students. Students have been offered a place at Mascalls Academy in Paddock Wood, however this is between 11-14 miles from the school, and pupils will be required to take a combination of buses and trains, making their days extremely long and dangerous- especially in the winter. It is therefore clear that this is not a viable option, especially considering a lot of areas surrounding Cranbrook have poor transport links due to how rural they are. Mascalls is also 5 times the size of the High Weald Academy, meaning the move is making a lot of students extremely anxious. Furthermore, with the increasing number of housing developments in the local area, more pupils will be requiring secondary school places, meaning there is a high chance that school places across Kent will become increasingly competitive due to the fact majority of schools already have a waiting list. 

Please support this petition to ensure children in Kent don't lose a much loved rural school. Parents should never lose the ability to choose where their child gains an education. If we learned one thing from the pandemic, it was that education is an extremely valuable tool that children in rural areas often struggle to access, and ultimately the mental health of young people should be an ever increasing focus at the moment following 18 months of disrupted learning.