Consultation on proposal to merge Ox Close Primary School and Oxclose Nursery School (phase two)

Why this is being proposed

We are consulting on a proposal to merge Ox Close Primary School and Oxclose Nursery School into one primary school (age 2-11) in a new build on the Durham Road site of the former Tudhoe Grange Comprehensive School. We are aiming to move towards a model of 'all through' primary schools instead of separate nursery, infant and junior schools where it is practicable to do so. Merging the schools will mean that children can benefit from primary education in one school rather than changing schools at age 4.

All schools must be viable and sustainable for the long term as well as being able to respond to 'growth'. Spennymoor is an area of County Durham that has experienced and continues to experience significant growth via housing developments. This is putting pressure on school places across the town. The most effective solution for Spennymoor to address the pressure on places at Ox Close and across Spennymoor generally is a new build replacement school.

Have your say

A public consultation ran from 2 November 2020 to 13 December 2020.

A statutory public notice has now been issued for four weeks from 28 January 2021:

• Ox Close Primary School and Oxclose Nursery School - public notice (PDF, 192.0kb)
• Ox Close Primary School and Oxclose Nursery School - full proposal (PDF, 174.3kb)

Details of how to respond are set out in the public notice. The deadline for responses is 26 February 2021.

What happens next

Once the consultation period ends, our Cabinet will decide whether to agree the proposed changes.