Plans for popular Derby school to admit more students move a step closer

Published: 2 November 2021

Exciting proposals have been announced today for Landau Forte College Derby to admit more students in the next academic year. The academy, which was recently highlighted as being the most over-subscribed school in Derbyshire, is due to welcome more students for the 2022-23 academic year, with more arriving the year after that.

The move comes as a result of close partnership working with Derby City Council to ensure that there are sufficient school places for students in Derby. With secondary school student numbers on the rise, Landau Forte College Derby has worked with the Council to develop proposals to open its doors to more students.

As part of the plans to host the new students, the academy will have an extension and remodelling work to provide additional capacity, and school leaders are also looking at opening an additional site for classrooms. Senior figures across the Landau Forte Charitable Trust are working with the Council to ensure that the expansion provides the opportunity of a high-quality education for students across Derby, while making sure that current students continue to receive the excellent teaching and learning on offer.

If approved, the expansion will ensure that 64 additional places are made available for students for the 2022-23 academic year, meaning the academy will have 260 new year seven students in total. Following that, the academy will expand to offering 300 year seven places in total in September 2023.

Alison Brannick, Principal at Landau Forte College Derby, said:

“We know that secondary student numbers are on the rise across Derby and we are delighted to play our part in helping meet this need. We have had far more applications than places at the academy for the past few years, so we are really looking forward to welcoming even more young people through our doors over the coming years. We never want to turn any prospective student away, and this expansion will really help.”

Sarah Findlay-Cobb, CEO at Landau Forte Charitable Trust, said:

“We were only too happy to work with Derby City Council in helping meet the increasing need for secondary school places across the area. This request comes as the end result of a tremendous amount of hard work from Alison and her team, and I am very pleased that these efforts have been recognised. The academy has produced excellent results over the past few years and it is fantastic news that more students will get to benefit from the high-quality education on offer.”

Councillor Evonne Williams, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills said:

“The Council has worked closely with Landau Forte Charitable Trust to bring forward this exciting college expansion scheme. The project will help the Council ensure sufficient school places are available to meet expected demand in future years and follows a range of other successful expansion schemes across the city funded by Derby City Council. The Council is pleased to announce this significant investment into providing the additional places at Landau Forte College and looks forward to our continued close partnership working with the Trust in the coming months to complete this exciting project for the benefit of the children and young people of Derby”.

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