Becket Keys Church of England School

Pre-opening History

The idea for Becket Keys Church of England School was put forward by Andy Scott Evans who was then the head teacher of St Thomas of Canterbury Junior School and Iain Gunn head teacher of St Peter’s Primary School South Weald. They said there was a need for a Church of England secondary school in Brentwood, as there were eleven Church of England primaries, but no equivalent secondary option. They formed a project steering group, comprising local parents; local primary head-teachers; and the Diocese of Chelmsford. In April 2011 the group selected the Russell Education Trust as their educational partner. Collectively they formed the Becket Keys CofE Free School Trust.

In June 2011, the Becket Keys CofE Free School Trust submitted a Free School proposal to the Department for Education (DfE) along with evidence of support from over 1,100 local parents. They were interviewed by the DfE about their proposal on 9 August 2011, and just over a month later they were granted approval by the Secretary of State for Education to establish the school.

Andy Scott Evans was appointed as the school’s founding head-teacher in February 2012.

A statutory public consultation period ran from March to April 2012, after which the school proposers signed a Model Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State.

The school opened in September 2012 with 123 Year 7 pupils, and nine teachers.

Opposition & Criticism

The statutory consultation that preceded the signing of the free school funding agreement, received 212 responses, of which 22 (10.5%) were against the Becket Keys CofE Free School Trust entering into an agreement with the Secretary of State.

The approval of Becket Keys was opposed by some people who wanted the Sawyers Hall Lane site to be used for a studio school or a university technical college instead.

The appointment of the founding head-teacher attracted comment because he had not previously taught at a Secondary School.

Feedback received during the pre-opening statutory consultation led to a change in the school’s proposed admissions policy, which in turn resulted in criticism from some of the school’s original supporters.

The opening of the school in September 2012 was blamed by some people for a drop in pupil numbers at two other local secondary schools. The Department for Education later released the impact assessment used in their decision to open the school, and by 2014, following improvements in performance, all but one of the secondary schools in Brentwood was full.

As a new school Becket Keys benefited from a start-up grant to cover its initial set-up costs. A local newspaper claimed that Becket Keys students would therefore receive more funding per head compared to students in established local schools, but that claim was refuted by the school's headteacher.

Admissions

Admissions to the school have proved controversial since opening in 2012. In every year since 2012 the school has been heavily oversubscribed. In 2014, parents who helped set up the school complained that they now find it very difficult to get a place for their child in the school. Brentwood Gazette have reported parents' concerns. The school publishes its admissions information on its website. . In 2012, the school was accused of creaming off the best students through its admissions policy. A study written by the Department for Education identified another local school (Brentwood County High School) as being likely to be highly affected by this new school in terms of admissions. The British Humanist Association criticised the school for looking to expand its intake of Christian students, but the admissions policy remains largely unchanged. Priority is given to siblings. After siblings, the remaining places are split 50:50 between those with Christian faith references and those who live closest to the school. Parents on MumsNet suggest that the school is benefiting from a certain type of student and is doing well as a result of considerable additional funding; they go on to express concerns that it is going to cause Shenfield High School to close. In 2015 Becket Keys added both St Thomas of Canterbury Church of England Aided Junior School and St Peter's South Weald to their admissions policy giving greater priority to parents from these schools.

New Buildings and Facilities

The school has benefited from considerable additional funding for new buildings. T&B Contractors have completed two phases of extensive improvement works. Firstly a £3,400,000 phase 1 programme was completed which ensured the school opened on time and made the site secure with a new boundary fence and wall. Secondly, a £4,000,000 refurbishment programme of the buildings was concluded in 2015. These extensive works included landscaping, new security systems, redecorating every area of the school, installing new windows and doors, new heating and lighting. Also at this time all the new ICT infrastructure was installed. The IT management company 'Joskos' have publicly acknowledged Becket Keys as one of their most significant customers with £750,000 being spent with the supplier.

It has recently announced that it has received funding for a new teaching block. It will call this new Block 'The Welby Building' and it expects to open this new facility in 2017. The new building will house the new sixth form study and social areas. It will also include 16 brand new classrooms, offices and other facilities.

A new Sports Hall is also expected to be built soon as the school is known to have successfully bid for funding from the Academies Condition Improvement Fund. The new sports hall is expected to be an investment into the school of around £2,000,000 which takes the total capital investment to over £12,000,000 in this Free School.