School shelves plan for sixth form, months before it was due to open

Parkfield School has promoted itself as an “all-through school” since it opened in 2013.

But parents have now been told that a sixth form will not open as planned due to financial reasons.

The school has been plagued by problems and is currently housed in a former office block in Bournemouth town centre.

It was due to move to a former air traffic control centre next to Bournemouth airport last September but the move was delayed following the discovery of a colony of bats.

In a statement, a spokesman for the school said: “The decision not to open our post 16 provision in September 2016 was a difficult one to make. We consulted with students, discussing their future plans with them and analysing their preferences for post 16 study. We also spoke with parents of students who had indicated that they would like to stay on to study at Parkfield.

“The school had always intended to promote and market the post 16 offer to other students in the community but the unfortunate postponement of the relocation to our permanent site meant that this was extremely difficult. Ultimately the post 16 offer in any school needs to be financially viable and we made the decision that the post 16 provision would not be viable in the short term. We will be re-visiting this in the near future.”

Hundreds of students are currently taught in Dorset House in Christchurch Road.

Plans for the school, Bournemouth’s only free school, were first announced in February 2011 and approved by the Department for Education eight months later.

It was due to open in Homelife House in 2012 but the opening was postponed after the sale fell through. The school opened in 2013 in Dorset House and parents were told a permanent, purpose-built site would be built in Bournemouth town centre.

Finding a site in the town centre proved difficult and many voiced concerns when the Hurn site was announced in January 2014. The school is due to open at Hurn in September this year.