Location

Location, location…

Ideally there would be some disused school buildings right in the middle of Radlett which could be renovated and restored for use as a new school. But, as there has never been a secondary school here, there are not. The Government is changing the regulations to enable other buildings to be adapted for new schools but there are still (as far as I am aware) no suitable buildings available within Radlett or Shenley. If you know differently, do please let me know (there have been some suggestions but none of them are suitably central).

This means that a new school would need a completely new building. This could be an advantage as it could be purpose-designed and could be a suitably 21^st Century environmentally friendly building with solar or ground heating, water recycling and so on. But it inevitably means it will also be expensive. Probably very expensive.

There are several possible sites for a new secondary school. One is on the field next to Newberries School. This is near enough both Radlett and Shenley for many students to walk or cycle to and from school. But the site is privately owned and probably too small to enable any future expansion.  Neighbours in the area are strongly opposed to any development in this location. Others have been suggested but are also too small.

Location for new school?

In the end it comes down to just one suitable site. This is the site originally earmarked for a secondary school in the 1970s – on the corner of New Road and Watford Road, opposite Fair Field School. This is a large agricultural site (currently growing wheat) which belongs to the County Council. It is certainly large enough for a school plus outside areas including sports facilities. It is also probably large enough to include a swimming pool which residents have long been requesting too (a pool to be shared between the school and the local residents). It can be assumed that the County Council would be prepared to lease the land to the school (although not an absolute certainty!) if it were to go ahead. However there would be some planning concerns locally as the site is both agricultural and in the Green Belt. I would hope that the benefits to the community would be accepted as outweighing the loss of Green Belt land but this cannot be assumed without appropriate consultations locally.

Transport

A major benefit of a local school would be the reduction in emissions from transport. Currently there are over 20 buses taking students to and from schools in surrounding areas up to 12 miles away each day, plus hundreds of daily car journeys to and from schools without such buses. One aim would be to encourage at least 50% of all students to walk or cycle to the school and this would be greatly facilitated by the provision of safe cycle routes throughout the local area. It is hoped that the relevant local authorities would be able to create such routes in parallel with the construction of the new school.