Bohunt School Worthing


Bohunt School Worthing is an 11–16 mixed secondary school with academy status in Worthing, West Sussex, England. It was established in September 2015 and is part of the Bohunt Education Trust. The school opened as part of the change of age of transfer arrangements in Worthing, which saw an end to three-tier education in the town.

History

The school was proposed in 2013 as part of West Sussex County Council's plans to reorganise education in Worthing to remove the three-tier structure, following the award of £13 million in funding to provide additional secondary school places in the town. Proposals were invited for a sponsor to open a new school, with five being received. Durrington High School was originally selected as the school's sponsor in partnership with Northbrook College, The Livingstone Foundation Trust and the University of Brighton. However, the school later withdrew its support for the proposals, citing concerns about the funding and the site of the school.
In September 2014, the Bohunt Education Trust was selected as the replacement sponsor for the new school. However, in December 2014 it too raised concerns about the site of the school, and indicated that it might pull out of the proposed school. The trust appointed a headteacher to the new school in October 2014, with initial building work beginning in the following February 2015. The new building is due to open in 2016, with the school using a temporary structure in the interim following opening in September 2015. The school will open with approximately 50% of its intended places taken up at around 190 students in the first year.

Campus

The school is being built on part of a site previously owned by Northbrook College in the Broadwater area of Worthing. The site is in a very constrained area, and so no immediate access to sports playing fields are available. The trust and the local authority have undertaken negotiations with Worthing Borough Council to arrange access to the nearby Grundlewolf Sports Ground for use by the school. The borough council declined to transfer the ownership of the land to the school, but instead proposed a shared-use arrangement.