Two middle schools in Bury St Edmunds set to close in 2023

The last two remaining middle schools in Bury St Edmunds are set to close next year signalling the final chapter of the move to two-tier education in Suffolk.

Westley Middle and Horringer Court Middle are to shut in August 2023 and was announced by Unity Schools Partnership, the county-based trust which runs the schools.

The trust has said, if the proposals go ahead, they aim to offer a chance of redeployment to all 63 staff at Westley Middle and 34 staff at Horringer Court Middle.

Unity has launched a public consultation on plans to shut the two schools and extend the age ranges at County Upper and Tollgate Primary, which are also both part of the trust – bringing it in line with the two-tier system in the rest of the town and county.

The number of families choosing the middle-school route has been dwindling, the consultation document said, with expected pupil numbers of 550 in September 2024 – a drop of a third compared to 2018.

The document said: “We believe that it is time to propose that we recognise that the pupil numbers are too low to maintain the three-tier system, and it is now time to have one common system for transferring between schools.”

Unity has 30 schools that operate in Bury St Edmunds and also in and around Newmarket, Haverhill, Sudbury, Ipswich and Felixstowe.

A trust spokesperson said the aim is to offer all Westley Middle and Horringer Court Middle employees a chance for redeployment in another school in the trust, which will include the additional posts that will be needed at Tollgate Primary School and County Upper School, but could also be at one of the other schools they run.

They said the proposals were not based on cost savings, but on avoiding schools becoming too small to be viable.

Feasibility studies have taken place on expansions at both Tollgate and County Upper, but at this stage they are not expecting there to be new buildings, but instead modifications to ensure existing buildings are suitable for the enlarged schools.

West Suffolk councillor Clive Springett, who represents the Minden ward, which includes Westley Middle, said closing the middle schools could potentially be “an absolute nightmare” – raising concerns over where local children would go to school.

Under the plans, Tollgate would extend its year groups to year 5 in September 2022 and to year 6 in September 2023 and from September 2023, County Upper would extend its year groups to include years 7 and 8, with children accepted that September into years 7, 8 and 9.

The consultation ends on Thursday, February 17, when the Department for Education will consider the proposals along with the views expressed.

Three public meetings have been organised at Westley Middle School on Thursday, January 27, at 7pm; Horringer Court Middle School on Monday, January 31, at 7pm; and County Upper School on Wednesday, February 2, at 7pm.

There will also be parent and carer meetings, with details sent directly to them.

For more information on the consultation see here.