Significant Change Consultation
Wootton Park School: Formalising Our Capacity to Meet Local Demand
Wootton Park School is a popular and hugely oversubscribed all-through academy, serving our community from Reception right through to Sixth Form. We are proud of the exceptional education we provide to the families of Northamptonshire.
Over recent years, our school has grown steadily in direct response to the strong and sustained demand for school places in our local area. We have worked closely with West Northamptonshire Council and the Department for Education (DfE) to meet that demand responsibly. Notably, the local authority has explicitly identified a continued need for Wootton Park School to maintain 180 places in Year 7 to ensure sufficient secondary school provision in the local area.
Our current pupil roll of 1,670 reflects this growth. However, our Funding Agreement still references an earlier planned capacity of 1,260, a figure that no longer reflects the reality of our school today. The DfE recently completed an independent Net Capacity Assessment (NCA) of our buildings, which confirmed that our existing premises can accommodate up to 1,750 pupils without any structural changes. We are therefore seeking to formalise our permanent capacity at 1,750, bringing our legal documentation into line with both the DfE's own assessment and the demand we are already meeting.
What does this mean?
This is not a new expansion. We are not building new classrooms or changing the character of our school. We are simply ensuring our formal records accurately reflect the school we already are, and the community we already serve.
Formalising our capacity at 1,750 will allow us to:
- Continue welcoming pupils and meeting local demand with confidence and legal certainty.
- Align our Funding Agreement with the DfE's own independent assessment of our buildings.
- Support our ongoing partnership with West Northamptonshire Council on local place planning.
- Provide security and continuity for our current pupils, families, and staff.
Our Planned Pupil Numbers
Our planned pupil numbers, in line with local demand, are as follows:
- Reception through to Year 6: 60 pupils per year group
- Years 7 to 11: 180 pupils per year group
- Years 12 to 13 (Sixth Form): 200 pupils per year group
This gives a total planned roll of 1,720 pupils, comfortably within our proposed formalised capacity of 1,750.
Why are we running this consultation?
As part of the DfE's Significant Change process, we are required to conduct a minimum three-week public consultation before submitting our application. We genuinely welcome the views of our community, and we invite you to have your say.
The consultation period for Wootton Park School will run from:
Consultation opens: 13/04/2026
Consultation closes: 04/05/2026
Virtual Consultation Event
We will be hosting two virtual events where you can hear more about our plans and ask any questions:
Session 1
Venue: Microsoft Teams
Date: Friday, 24/04/2026
Time: 12.00 pm
Session 2
Venue: Microsoft Teams
Date: Tuesday, 28/04/2026
Time: 4.00 pm
To confirm your attendance, please email: Surveys@PremierAdvisory.co.uk
Submitting your feedback
We also invite you to complete our short online survey.