Keep us on one site, says head

Mr Craig Pamphilon agrees with education authority assessments that one final expansion on the college site in Downsview Crescent could accommodate the 128 secondary age children expected to live in 500 new homes in Uckfield, 90 in Buxted, 15 at Five Ash Down, 45 at Isfield and 80 at Maresfield.

Mr Pamphilon said he opposed the idea of a separate sixth form campus as suggested by the trustees of the Clarence Preston Will Trust who are promoting a scheme for 600 homes, a business park, doctor's surgery, shops and community facilities at Downlands Farm.

If the offer was for a new state of the art school on a new site no head teacher in Sussex would turn that down, said Mr Pamphilon. But a split site would not be good for teachers or students and would not be a cost effective use of resources.

Turning to proposals to build 500 new homes at Bird in Eye hill, favoured by Wealden planners, Mr Pamphilon said there were some logical reasons for building homes there. He liked the idea of a river crossing of footpaths and cycleways which students could use to get to the college.

A 1.6 million building project at the community technology college has just been approved by the county council. Spread over three years the money will be used to replace seven mobile classrooms with eight new classrooms and a dance and drama studio.

But further investment in building would be needed for the college to cope with the extra students envisaged in the draft Local Plan and that expansion would be the last possible on the site.