FOI reveals more on whether Bushey needs another secondary school

Data revealed from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request shows the vast majority of pupils who study in the town travel into Bushey from nearby towns and villages.

The FOI was submitted after tentative plans for Hertfordshire's biggest ever school were unveiled earlier this year on the site of the former Bushey Country Club.

Hertsmere Borough Council organised a meeting with residents in March to update them on the greenbelt site, which closed as a country club in 2018.

Within the meeting, residents were presented with a plan for the site going forward.

The plans - in conjunction with Hertfordshire County Council - revealed two areas of housing, some public amenities, but perhaps most surprisingly, a secondary school capable of taking in up to 1,900 pupils.

Related: Huge school could be built on Bushey Country Club site

This masterplan was presented to residents by Hertsmere Borough Council, the owners of the country club site. The reddish brown shows the school while the beige marks potential housing

Since the meeting, many have questioned whether a school is appropriate - or even needed - in Bushey.

Community group, The Bushey Forum, whose chairman Philip Nowlan chaired March's meeting, say they decided under the Freedom of Information Act to "delve more into the facts that would warrant another secondary school being built".

The Bushey Forum said it requested this information so that it could share it with the residents of Bushey so that "we are all better informed and can make informed arguments when necessary".

Related: Bushey Country Club secondary school plan condemned

Bushey Country Club, which closed in 2018. The whole site is still in use with new businesses leasing

Vice-chairman Carole Elam and treasurer Michele Pannaman sought to find answers to the following questions from Hertfordshire County Council.

They asked how many Bushey children in the WD23 catchment area (Bushey + Bushey Heath) attend Queens', Bushey Meads, or the Grange Academy (all within the WD23 postcode) and what the catchment area is for each of those schools.

They also asked how many children from outside of WD23 attend the three secondary schools, as well as asking how many children from WD23 attend schools outside of the postcode.

The answers revealed of the 4,015 students at Queens', Bushey Meads and The Grange Academy, just 27.05 per cent live in WD23.

The other students are from 23 different postcodes from as far north as St Albans and as far south as Sudbury in Harrow.

The schools also take pupils in from across Watford, South Oxhey, Borehamwood, Radlett, other parts of Harrow, and more.

Related: Consultation group didn't put forward school for Bushey Country Club

Data shows 35 per cent and 30 per cent of pupils who attend Bushey Meads and Queens' respectively live in Bushey, but it's down at 13 per cent at The Grange Academy, according to the Spring 2020 School Census.

Nearly 40 per cent of The Grange Academy's pupils live in South Oxhey, Carpenders Park, or Watford Heath.

Meanwhile, there are 515 pupils who live in WD23 who attend a secondary school outside of that postcode.