School made to fund own expansion

By Hannah Goff
Education reporter, BBC News

Ripley is rated a 'very good' school by Ofsted

A high-achieving infant school is having to fund its own expansion despite a government pledge popular schools would be helped to grow.

Ripley Church of England Infants School near Woking, Surrey, is rated very good by Ofsted and is in the top 5% for national test results at age seven.

It wants to take pupils up to age 11, rather than stopping at age seven.

But neither the Church nor Surrey County Council can fund the £340,000 cost of the four new classrooms needed.

Some of our children are fifth generation pupils Ripley head teacher Margaret Walker

As part of the drive to raise standards the government has repeatedly said that it wishes to make it easier for successful and popular schools to expand.

Since 2003, 75 secondaries and 63 primaries have been allowed to do this.

But only 16 of them were given extra capital funds directly from government to help them.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "We do not keep a record of how the other expansions have been funded, since this is a matter for local decision making and management."

There was "a strong presumption" in statutory guidance that proposals to expand successful and popular schools should be approved.

Additional incentive funding was available to ensure they are not prevented by a lack of capital, he said.

But in this case the school has been told no money is available and is having to find the cost of the expansion itself.

The school does better than the national average in test results

Head teacher Margaret Walker said there had been a school on the Ripley site in various guises since 1840, so there was room for the expansion.

"Ripley is a very busy, lively village and it needs a primary school," she said.

"It's a very nice school and it's been here for a long time. A lot of our parents were themselves pupils - 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

"Some of our children are fifth generation pupils."

Fund-raising push

One parent, Ned Calas-Hathaway, said: "The village deserves a primary school in order to retain its wonderful community spirit.

"It will also keep our children in the environment in which they are happy and content instead of being forced to send our children to a school that's at least over two and half miles away."

The school has raised £270,000 over the past three years, partly by renting out some of its site to a nursery and a pre-school, both private.

Ripley's parent-staff association has also been working hard to raise as much money as possible.

But it has to find the final £70,000 in the next few weeks so it can present its business plan to Surrey County Council in December.

A council spokesman said: "Surrey County Council cannot support the site because it is not financially viable.

"However, if the school and community are able to fund raise and fully fund the works, we would fully support them."

The matter would then be considered by the council's decision-making executive.

The DCSF added that Surrey and its schools had received capital funding of nearly £130m in the past three years and would be getting a further £172m over the three years from 2008.