Welcome to Education Swanage
After the move to two-tier education, Swanage will be the only town in Dorset with no secondary education for local children, even though it is one of the largest towns in the county outside Bournemouth & Poole. Every day over 600 children will have to make a round trip of 20 miles to the nearest school. We can't find another town in the UK that has to send so many children so far. Every planning expert that we talk to says this will lead to a fundamental upward shift in the age of the town population, with young families moving away. But a good local school will attract families.
A local campaign for Dorset County Council to open a campus of the Purbeck School in Swanage fell on deaf ears. They are set on building two sites in Wareham for up to 1650 pupils.
Now the law has changed to allow community groups to open their own schools and we are investigating this option with education experts and the local council. We see this as a chance to build a gem of a school for the community, taking advantage of our fantastic location. Swanage attracts tens of thousands of schoolchildren every year from around the country, visiting various centres for a wonderful educational experience. We want local children - and adults too - to have the same opportunities and more.
To satisfy Department for Education requirements we need to show:
- Demand for a school
- A viable business plan
- Educational aims and objectives
- Possible sites and premises
We are working on each of these areas with the help of nationally and internationally recognised educational experts, and will put more detailed proposals online as soon as possible.
Please look around our website and if you have questions, or would like to help in any way, please get in touch.
