A final decision on the future of the troubled Bohunt School sixth form in Arborfield Green is expected from the council in around two months.
Bohunt School – an academy run by the Bohunt Education Trust – was given permission to expand by Wokingham Borough Council last year. But increased construction costs mean the expansion may not go ahead.
It is believed they have risen from an agreed £5.7 million in March 2022 to £10.5 million now.
Under the original agreement, Bohunt would have provided £2 million, with the remaining £3.7 million coming from the council.
The Trust has since said it can provide £5 million, but the council is still deciding whether to support funding a new building on the current site – or to use an existing nearby building.
Councillor Prue Pray, responsible for children’s services, said the council would need to make a decision in a “couple of months.”
She said: “We are proposing a twin-track approach at the moment, looking at both a new build and using an existing building – and the opportunity to use the existing building has only recently come up.
“Work will continue on both options for now, but in a couple of months, we will need to make the final decision on which one we’re going to go with. The Trust are fully aware of both options and I expect we’ll be bringing another report in October or November with that decision in it.”
Councillor Bray also stressed that the decision on whether to open a sixth form “is not in the council’s hands” – but will be made by Bohunt Education Trust.
The decision will come too late for students who had hoped to start at a sixth form at the Bohunt School this coming September. Councillor Bray said the council was helping those students, and that there were enough spaces for them at other Wokingham schools.
Speaking at a meeting of the council’s ruling Executive committee, councillor Graham Howe asked councillor Bray to “Put an end to this opaque, changing story so the residents of the Bohunt community can be informed, but also the other Wokingham schools that will be impacted.”
Councillor Bray replied: “The council are working to provide information to assist the students affected by this to find alternative sixth form places in the Wokingham area. Other schools in Wokingham including Forest School have sufficient available spaces to admit students from Bohunt.”
