Albany School in Chorley – Holds Consultation on adding 15 children from Horwich each year to its enrolment.
Albany Academy (Secondary School) on Bolton Road in Chorley has recently launched a Consultation to change its admissions policy for Albany Academy for 2024 Admissions.
It is part of an Academy organisation linked with Chorley New Road Primary Academy in Horwich which are both part of the same academy trust.
The proposal is that Albany School would offer a guaranteed number of 15 places maximum to children currently attending Chorley New Road Primary Academy in Horwich. This would be a maximum of 10% of the total admission number.
Residents in Chorley will probably be already aware that Chorley secondary schools are already massively over-subscribed in the order of 200-300 school places each year based upon recent LCC updates.
As a result, many Chorley pupils are unable to gain a place at their first preference or indeed any local school with many having to travel out of Chorley Borough to access places in South Ribble, Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan and other towns, rather than being taught closer to home. This inevitably causes difficulties for the pupils and their families and can end up with siblings at different schools spread far apart. This was a particular problem for pupils trying to get into Albany and other Chorley schools last year 2022.
Steve Holgate the Labour County Councillor for the area that Albany is located in stated, “Local Chorley kids being denied an education in the area in which they live”.
“Chorley is lucky in that all its high schools are really good schools and most of them are academies – and you can’t take anything away from them. But they are there for a reason – and that is to provide local education for local children.
“Obviously what they’re trying to do is start with a blank sheet of paper and model these kids through junior school – and then take the elite and offer them places at the secondary school.
“It’s just wrong – it’s not about the kids, it’s about the business model. That was always the concern that most people had with regards to academisation – that they’d take on a life of their own and a different raison d’etre, not the one that should be at the core of their activities.
“I think it’s important that we get to understand what their motive is, because I cannot see how it benefits the people that they are here to serve,” said County Cllr Holgate.
Chorley Labour Party is encouraging residents to put their views forward via the consultation website which can be accessed here http://www.albanyacademy.co.uk/consultation
Or alternatively, write to;
Albany Academy, Bolton Road, Chorley, PR7 3AY.
Email [email protected]
with the subject Consultation
The Consultation Closes on 17th January 2023
