Expansion of Crowborough's Grove Park School set to move forward

On Monday (July 24), lead member for education Bob Standley backed plans, which could lead to the expansion of Grove Park School in Crowborough.

Although still at an early stage, the expansion is expected to involve a significant building project at the school’s main site in Church Road. This project will need to go through a separate planning process.

Currently, the school offers education from primary through to sixth form. After the expansion, the school would also offer up to eight nursery places as well. This would lower the school’s age range from four-to-19 to two-to-19-years-old.

The expansion would also see the end of a site-sharing arrangement the school currently has with Beacon Academy. Secondary and sixth form pupils from Grove Park are currently educated at the academy’s site in Green Lane, but these pupils would only be taught at the Church Road site once the expansion is completed.

Finally, the expansion would also increase the overall number of places the school could offer (i.e. the number of pupils it can teach) to 152. This would be made up of eight nursery places, 56 primary places, 60 secondary places and 36 sixth form places.

Cllr Standley said: “One of the first meetings I went to when I took this job was to discuss with Grove and Beacon how we could get Grove on to one site.

“That was five years ago, so I’m happy we’ve actually made it, because it was a very expensive project and we’ve now found those [funds].

“I think there are advantages, not only to Grove but to Beacon as well. I think it is a win-win.”

The proposal was also welcomed by Liberal Democrat councillor Kathryn Field, who said: “I think it is a very sensible proposal and as long as we are sure it can be accommodated on that site I think it is a good idea.”

The scale of the changes mean the proposals will have to go through a statutory process before a decision can be made. It was the beginning of this statutory process which was approved by Cllr Standley.