MATTERS TO BE SPECIFIED IN SECTION 18 PROPOSALS FOR ALTERATIONS TO SCHOOLS
EXTRACT OF SCHEDULE 2 TO THE SCHOOL ORGANISATIONS (PRESCRIBED ALTERATIONS TO MAINTAINED SCHOOLS) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2013 (AS AMENDED)
Proposal for a prescribed alteration to the age range of Moor Park High School and Sixth Form
School and Local Authority Contact Details
This proposal is published by the Governor Board of Moor Park High School and Sixth Form, Moor Park Avenue, Preston, Lancashire PR1 6DT. The school is a Foundation School.
The contact address at the Local Authority is Sarah Hirst, Learning and Skills Service, Room C27, PO Box 100, County Hall, Preston, PR1 0LD.
Description of the proposed alteration
The proposal is that Moor Park High School and Sixth Form permanently lower its age range from 11-18 to 11-16 from 31st August 2026, through the closure of the Sixth Form. The school will remain open and unchanged for students in the 11-16 part of the school. Post-16 students currently on the role of Moor Park High School and Sixth Form will continue to be taught and will be able to complete their courses at the school.
Objective
Governors believe that the closure of the Sixth form is necessary because over the last few years, numbers in the sixth form have fallen, and there is a local need for 11-16 secondary school places. Moor Park High School and Sixth Form has become increasingly popular in years 7-11, following our Ofsted ‘Good’ rating in 2021. The school is now significantly oversubscribed every year and, given the increase in the secondary age population in Preston, has a moral duty to release school places for students in years 7-11. There are several highly successful sixth form colleges and further education providers within the City of Preston, providing excellent opportunities for high quality educational experiences for post-16 students.
Evidence and rationale
Numbers of post-16 enrolled at Moor Park High School and Sixth Form have been falling along with income received for them from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA):
| Year | September | Yr 12 | Yr 13 | Total | |
| 1 | 2013 | 23 | 0 | 23 | |
| 2 | 2014 | 30 | 20 | 50 | |
| 3 | 2015 | 28 | 25 | 53 | |
| 4 | 2016 | 36 | 19 | 55 | Highest |
| 5 | 2017 | 27 | 27 | 54 | |
| 6 | 2018 | 31 | 19 | 50 | |
| 7 | 2019 | 21 | 19 | 40 | Lowest |
| 8 | 2020 | 35 | 18 | 53 | |
| 9 | 2021 | 17 | 30 | 47 | |
| 10 | 2022 | 23 | 19 | 42 | |
| 11 | 2023 | 21 | 26 | 47 | |
| 12 | 2024 | 20 | 23 | 43 |
Despite the efforts to increase recruitment and to cut the costs of post-16 Education over the years, Governors at Moor Park High School and Sixth Form have had to make a considerable subsidy from the funding received for 11-16 students at the school in order to support the post-16 provision. In the current financial year alone, the cross-phase subsidy is in the region of £177,000. Governors have concluded that continuing the subsidy can no longer be justified educationally nor financially. This proposal will significantly reduce costs and will therefore allow the school to use the surplus space and increased funding to enhance and improve the provision for students in years 7-11.
The proposed closure of the sixth form allows governors to increase the school’s pupil admission number to 130 for year 7, initially on a temporary basis from September 2025 and then every academic year until the school reaches capacity at 650 in September 2029
Additionally, the proposal will have the long-term effect of removing the current subsidy from the 11-16 part of the school. In conclusion the governors make this proposal in the interests of ensuring the financial viability of the school, and for the moral reason of offering more school places in the 11-16 part of the school.
Educational standards and the range of educational and training opportunities
Current Department for Education (DfE) criteria for setting up a new Sixth Form requires providers to offer at least 15 Level 3 courses (A Level and their equivalent). The school has maintained the offer of subjects but low student numbers in the sixth form cause serious concern about the ability to maintain such an offer and the school would have to narrow the range of subjects which would not be in the best interests of the post-16 students. While it can be beneficial to have smaller student numbers in groups, such small numbers as one, two or three does not make a vibrant learning experience for the student.
There are a number of alternative post-16 providers (all rated as ‘good’ or better by Ofsted) which are relatively easy to access (e.g. Cardinal Newman College, 1 mile, Preston College 1 mile, and Runshaw College 6.2miles) and these provide a full range of suitable courses. The overwhelming majority of Moor Park High School and Sixth Form’s Year 11 students already opt to study at other sixth form, and further education colleges rather than at Moor Park High School and Sixth Form; there will therefore be no detrimental impact on local post 16 providers because of the small additional numbers that this sixth form closure will create. Governors do not believe that the proposal will have an adverse effect on participation in post-16 education nor on the educational standards of those students.
Proposal costs and long term value for money
Governors believe that the proposal will make a significant contribution to the long term financial stability at the school. The proposal will also help protect and further improve the quality and breadth of the educational provision in the 11-16 part of the school.
Implementation
The proposal is that the age range of the school will change from September 2026. This is so that post-16 students who are currently on roll at Moor Park High School and Sixth Form will be able to complete their education before the proposal comes into effect. However, if the proposal was accepted it would mean that there would be no recruitment to academic courses at Moor Park High School and Sixth Form for September 2025 because these students would not be able to complete their two-year course before the potential implementation of the proposal.
Procedure for responding to the consultations
In addition to this proposal, the school will respond individually to any questions. All stakeholders will get a response by emailing [email protected] or by phoning the school on 01772 795428.
To formally respond to the consultation, you can support, object to or make comments on the proposal by posting them to Sarah Hirst at Learning and Skills Service, Room C27, PO Box 100, County Hall, Preston, PR1 0LD. Responses can also be emailed to [email protected] . To be considered as part of the decision making process to determine the proposal, responses must be received no later than 2nd May 2025.
