A SCHOOL has announced it plans to close its sixth form and will not be taking any post-16 students this September.

Queensbury School is currently consulting with parents about the proposals, which follow a recent Bradford Council review that said 19 sixth-form schools in Bradford, including Queensbury’s, were “unviable”.

It suggested sixth forms could be “rationalised” by some schools closing theirs down, or partnering with other schools. It also called for new sixth form colleges, and so far two have been proposed for Bradford, one run by the Dixons Academy Trust and one by New College Pontefract.

Queensbury is the first school to announce it will be closing its sixth form. A letter from head teacher Liz Hart to parents says they will have until May 16 to have their say on the plans.

It says “low numbers” of pupils staying on at the school for sixth form had lead to a “lack of breadth of the curriculum”. Pupils currently in the first year of sixth form will finish their studies next year, but no Year 11 pupils will move up. The letter to parents refers to areas of the Council review that say the current sixth-form provision in many schools leaves students with limited choice, as well as being “not financially sustainable”.

It adds: “After discussing Post 16 plans with current Year 11 students, numbers expressing interest in continuing Post 16 education at Queensbury School are too low to enable us to offer curriculum choices for students that are of the preferred choice, financially viable and in the best interests of students.

“Therefore it is with regret that we are proposing not to admit any Year 11 students into Year 12 in September.

“We will, of course, work with those students and families who were considering Queensbury to secure a place in another establishment.”

After the public consultation, the school will submit parent responses and a business case to the Department for Education who will make the final decision. The school is also holding a meeting on Tuesday, April 25, at 5pm.

In September Queensbury School became an academy, joining the Bradford-based Feversham Education Trust.

Councillor Debbie Davies, Conservative spokesman for education on Bradford Council, said: “I think decisions like this are up to the individual schools. I’m happy they are consulting with parents.”

Bradford Council’s Deputy Director for Education, Employment and Skills, Judith Kirk, said: “It is for individual schools and their governing bodies to decide on the future of their provision and it will be the Department for Education who will ultimately make the decision.”

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