TOP MARKS WHITFIELD

Sites earmarked for new grammar

Special report by Terry Sutton

    EDUCATION chiefs are being asked to pick farmland at Whitfield as the site for Dover's new merged grammar school.
    The call comes from area education director Neil Mullett in a report to Kent Education Committee.
    Governors of the two schools and staff have visited a number of sites and the Whitfield area was selected as the best place for the new school.
    "More than one Whitfield site is under technical and financial appraisal by the land and property department to determine which would be the most favourable from the point of view of drainage and site works." said Mr Mullett.
    The new merged school is expected, at this stage, to take 1,030 boys and girls and, without land, is likely to cost nearly £10 million.
    The two existing schools provide a total of 1,492 places so more than 460 surplus places will be eliminated in the new school, says Mr Mullett.
    There are 1,076 boys and girls at present at the two schools but, according to the education department, these numbers are likely to fall to 1,030 by 1996-97.
    Kent education chiefs meet at Maidstone on Monday to discuss the site.
    Eventually, if the recommendation goes ahead, the project will have to be funded through the Department of Education loan approval and their officials are unlikely to make the money available unless it can be shown that significant surplus places are eliminated.
    Mr Mullett says he hopes the new merged school could be ready for occupation by September 1995, possibly before.
    Education officials hope to be able to sell off the girls' school premises in Frith Road, Castlemount school (already vacant), part of Astor lower school, and Westmount adult education centre in Folkestone Road for about £4.5 million.