A new primary school for Plymouth?

There is a desperate shortage of primary school places in Plymouth. The local newspaper has recently reported this, in The Plymouth Herald and national newspapers, like The Telegraph have also reported that Plymouth is one of the cities facing the biggest squeezes on primary school places. We, and the University of Plymouth, are well placed to help.

We can build a new primary school on our campus,  we launched a 'pre consultation', in December 2011 to gauge parental demand, asking parents to fill in our brief online questionnaire.

We gathered the input, presented it to the Department for Education (DfE) along with our proposals, and we are delighted to tell you that the Department for Education (DfE) has moved it along to the next stage.

This means that our proposers have been invited to the Department for Education (DfE) in London and will be interviewed by officials for around 90 minutes on the 25th May.

Marine Academy Primary will technically be one of the government's new 'Free Schools', which means that it is free from local authority control. However, Plymouth City Council will be one of the school's sponsors. If successful, The Marine Academy Trust will manage the new Academy.

The core purposes of the new Academy are to provide much needed school places, to raise achievement, especially in English and Maths, and raise aspirations amongst its community, inspiring pupils to fulfil their potential.

Helen Mathieson, principal of Marine Academy Plymouth said; “This is a wonderful opportunity for St Budeaux and Plymouth, together we can provide expertise to benefit the pupils, the community and the future prosperity of the area.

“The pre consultation has been designed to enable as many people as possible to register their interest concerning the proposal. I welcome the contribution of the local community in helping us to move this exciting project forward."

We still need your help and input, so, please fill in our questionnaire or contact us and let us know your thoughts.