School proposal for Richfield Avenue

Reading Borough Council has proposed Richfield Avenue as the preferred location for a new secondary school in Reading, with the proposal set to be considered at a meeting of the Council’s Policy Committee on 11 June.

The council has been considering possible locations for a new 6-form entry secondary school needed to cope with the growth in demand for school places in the town. Current estimates are that by 2025/26 an additional 1,000 new secondary school places will be needed in Reading.

Following the exercise, land at Richfield Avenue – west of Rivermead Leisure Centre and bordering Thameside Promenade – has been chosen as the preferred site for the new 900-place free school. If this goes ahead it would open in September 2021.

The site comprises a former golf driving range and open land bordering Richfield Avenue. The land had previously been earmarked for a new outdoor activity and education centre, including a high ropes facility. This will now not go forward.

A school in Richfield Avenue would mean that proposals for a traveller site on nearby land next to Cow Lane will not go ahead.