Local Labour councillors welcomed news today that Camden is to decide next week on providing a new primary school for NW6.

Papers for the Cabinet meeting on 18 July published today show the Cabinet will consider approving plans to allow Kingsgate primary school to expand, onto a new site on Liddell Road, West Hampstead.  The new site will host an additional two forms per year, creating 420 places in total.  Kingsgate was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted last year. It is a community primary school in Kilburn ward.

Last week's Ham & High reports on the problem

Labour has campaigned for a new school in NW6 to meet the huge demand for school places west of the Finchley Road. Our campaign has highlighted figures from Camden showing the need for a new school.

Of the 153 children across Camden who hadn’t received an offer of a primary school place as of 1 May, 104 – more than two-thirds – live west of the Finchley Road.

Kilburn councillor Mike Katz said: “This is great news for parents in NW6.  Camden’s own figures show how desperately we need a new primary school in our area. Labour has been campaigning with parents to make this happen – and it’s fantastic that the council has listened.

Kilburn councillor Thomas Gardiner added: “The Government’s legislation actually prevents councils from opening new community schools, so it hasn’t been easy to find a solution to this problem.  Even though local schools Emmanuel and Kingsgate are each taking a one-off bulge class of 30 extra pupils this year, demand is so high that there is still more than another class’ worth of children without a place.

Kilburn councillor Maryam Eslamdoust continued: “If the current pressure on schools wasn’t enough, there are a number of new new developments planned for the area, like the Abbey regeneration in Kilburn and those such as ‘West End Square’ in West Hampstead, which will mean more families in NW6, and thus more demand for primary places.  Not having a school place is hugely disruptive for the education of those children affected, and extremely stressful for their parents, so this is really welcome news.

Camden’s press release on the proposals can be found here.  For more information on Labour’s camapign and the problem of demand for school places in NW6, visit the Kilburn Rose blog here.