It was a highly competitive process - the Dept for Education received many applications from schools realising that this might be the last chance for a while given a potential change of government with the upcoming election. Belleville made it through to the second round but was unsuccessful on this occasion.

Any updates on this?
Thanks x

Just to be absolutely clear - there is no proposal to further expand Belleville. Rather the school is making a bid to the Dept of Education to establish a new school under a multi- Academy Trust arrangement, ideally to serve the same SW116 community if a suitable site can be found. That said, if there is no local site it may well be much further afield. The next stage, after the paper submission, is to attend an interview panel at the DfE. It is likely, having started this round, that decisions will be taken before the General Election. Good luck with your decision making.

Just wondering if anyone knows of an update on the Belleville School expansion and if its confirmed that it will have its own catchment area unlike the Meteor Road site. It's so frustrating that the Meteor Road site is very close to our house yet we have no chance of our child gaining a place.

We'd be most likely to gain a place at Wix but their ofsted results are a signicant concern. If any mums of children at Wix have feedback on the new head I'd appreciate it. She seemed ok when I met her at an open day but so far seems to talk a lot with not much follow through. The website is a mess, compared to Honewell and Belleville, although understandably this may not be her first priority.

The submission to the Dept of Education has been made. It is unclear when decisions on this round of applications to establish new schools will be made and it may not be until Jan or beyond. There is no known site as yet - finding a suitable site will likely be a big challenge. And yes it will be a separate school with its own admission criteria.

Hi
Anyone having any news on belleville new site? Where will it be? Would it have its own catchment area?
Thanks for sharing

The irony of this situation is the number of former school sites that have been sold off/redeveloped in the locality: Latchmere Road, Siverthorne Road, Battersea Park Road, Thessaly Road… and the latest of these Eltringham Street (that's not to mention the Newton Prep site and the triangle between Battersea Park Road and Prince of Wales Drive - opposite Newton Prep - which were also state funded schools… and the former Kingsway College on Battersea Park Road - between Macduff Road and Forfar Road).

Anyway… there is currently a proposal to redevelop the Patcham Terrace site opposite Battersea Park station, along with St Marys primary school (planning aplication 2014/4665). This effectively reduces the school site size to around half what it currently is, and replaces the rest with commercial space and 18 storey residential tower blocks.

Perhaps a deal could be done between Belleville and St Marys to prevent the site being redeveloped, and thus preserve it for education?

Just a reminder that Belleville are looking for 120 names of children of reception age in 2016 &2017 that parents would consider sending to a new school that Belleville would like to open.

The deadline for names to be submitted to the school is by the end of next Tuesday 6th October.

To find out more see the newsletter issued by Mr Grove (Belleville's head) on Tuesday 16th September on the school website
http://www.belleville-school.org.uk/news/newsletters/

Obviously there is not obligation once you have signed up but it is part of the process to demonstrate there is a need for additional primary places in the area.

Just a reminder that Belleville are looking for 120 names of children of reception age in 2016 &2017 that parents would consider sending to a new school that Belleville would like to open.

The deadline for names to be submitted to the school is by the end of next Tuesday 6th October.

To find out more see the newsletter issued by Mr Grove (Belleville's head) on Tuesday 16th September on the school website
http://www.belleville-school.org.uk/news/newsletters/

Obviously there is not obligation once you have signed up but it is part of the process to demonstrate there is a need for additional primary places in the area.

[quote="cynic"]The idea the council has any kind of long-term strategy regarding the expansion of {insert decent school of your choice} is laughable, it's a year by year ongoing problem not helped at all by wandsworth selling off any assets it can get away with, (this is also not an insignificant reason why places like Belleville became academies as soon as they could)[/quote]

Try this:

January 2012 Report by the Director of Children’s Services on Proposals to Increase the Number of Primary School Places for September 2012

ww3.wandsworth.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/s22556/Paper%20NO.%2012-13%20-%20Primary%20School%20Places.pdf

if they get enough people registering an interest hopefully the council will help? hmm. you'd hope.

And if everyone can keep their eyes and ears open for a suitable site......this, I'd imagine is the biggest challenge to making this new school a reality!!

Great news, hopefully as many people as possible will register support and come 2016/17 the worry around lists. catchment problems and issues re school offers a big trek away will be eased. If we don't register the school and council won't have stong evidence they need.

Also let me remind all:
the original on-site Belleville expansion plan that was thrown out by Belleville parents (back in, was it 2009?) would have cost approx £6m
Refurbing the Meteor st school site cost about £2.2m and then there's that £960k received for the caretaker's site, so overall that cost the council a mere £1.3m.

Yes ok ok to achieve that they had to sell-off a prime plot of land next to a school site about to be taken over by the most oversubscribed outstanding school in the borough vs. a 30% rise in birth rate over 5 years but hey look at how the council tax has stayed low! Well done Wandsworth

The idea the council has any kind of long-term strategy regarding the expansion of {insert decent school of your choice} is laughable, it's a year by year ongoing problem not helped at all by wandsworth selling off any assets it can get away with, (this is also not an insignificant reason why places like Belleville became academies as soon as they could)

Speaking as a resident nearby the Meteor site:
The site of the old caretakers house for the old Vines school on Forthbridge Road was sold to developers by our smart-thinking council. The decent parcel of land was sold in by wandsworth council in 2011/2012 for £960k.
It now has 2 four bed houses (£1.3m each) and three flats (3bed, 2bed and 1 bed) e.g
http://www.kfh.co.uk/residential-properties/houses-for-sale-london/houses-in-battersea-sw11-forthbridge-road/2130810/
Very nice result for the developers!

I recall a certain Mr John Groves expressing surprise and disappointment when I told him this site adjacent to his new school site was to be sold off.

These are 2.5 storey buildings (albeit in keeping with other properties), where only a small 2storey dwelling existed before, so I wouldn't say a plan for another storey on the Meteor street school site would immediately be met with objections.

A more important factor (which sadly, though perhaps understandably the planning system would become the mechanism to vent objection to again) would be that if the Meteor st site were to be expanded in any way, I very much doubt any offer of access to the children of local residents would be proposed.