Last week I visited Bohunt School at their new site. I know some staff members and parents have been quite emotional seeing the pupils finally able to experience the fantastic new, purpose built facilities. Frankly so was I!
It has been a long journey. Back in 2015 despite investment in space and new facilities our local secondaries were soon going to be simply unable to accommodate all of Horsham’s secondary students. There was a real risk that for the first time students in Horsham and Billingshurst would routinely have to take up places outside our immediate area not through choice but because of weight of numbers.
It took real determination to secure the approval in principle of a new school – to be run by Bohunt Educational Trust, a multi-academy trust with a number of existing schools in the South.
This first step was not the end of the story: the Department for Education rarely allows schools to be created on temporary locations (due to the very understandable fear that planning issues may prevent the construction of the new school leaving the school “stranded”). However Horsham – with our existing schools bursting at the seams – needed an immediate solution. That battle was intense but happily resolved – only to then have to ensure that the temporary school was indeed located in Horsham when temporary locations well outside the town were seriously suggested!
The final temporary solution we secured, opposite Collyers (who have been immensely supportive throughout) could not have been better.
The first batch of parents were brave – entrusting your children to a new head in an untested school in a temporary school building - isn’t an easy call. However all concerned can be very proud of the progress the school has made to date and in the brilliant new learning environment. It is also great to see a development actually securing critical infrastructure before, not after, houses are built.
Bohunt Horsham has joined an already highly thought of group of secondary schools in Horsham and Billingshurst. All of the secondaries are doing extremely well, despite the challenges of the past years. The Forest School have been going through their first year of co-ed and when I visited the school last year, I was impressed by the works done to the school and the (unprompted!) positive testimonials from students. The quality of all our local secondary schools is one of the many reasons why so many want to live here: not to mention Collyer’s which is now 3rd in the country for A Level results while providing a huge range of activities. Bohunt Horsham, on its new site, is a very welcome new addition.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Quin with Ms Ayling and students at Bohunt Horsham.