Education has always been a top priority for me, and since becoming an MP I have worked hard to support our schools locally – regularly speaking with parents, teachers, and students and arguing for better facilities. We’ve had fantastic results in Swanley and West Kingsdown, with more to come.
Pivotal to maintaining high standards across our schools is the need for more school choice. That is why I am delighted my election pledge to open a Sevenoaks campus for Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has now been delivered.
The campus will mean: parents have more choice locally of quality secondary schools; pupils are more likely to get their first choice of school; and families will spend less time and money on the school run.
Such progress marks the final piece of the jigsaw, which has seen the school provision within Sevenoaks totally transformed in the last 10 years. It follows the delivery of Trinity School (which benefitted from the Government’s Free School Programme), a new Sevenoaks campus for Weald of Kent, and huge investment in Knole Academy.
With more multi-million pound investment proposed for new sports pitches and multi-play areas on the campus, never has our secondary school provision been so varied. I would like to say a huge thank you to The Sevenoaks Grammar School Campaign, all the students, parents and teachers who have been involved and of course my predecessor, Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon. They all played a hugely significant role. Education is for everyone, and now because of their hard work, more children are going to be able to benefit.
I firmly believe in choice, and I am delighted this is now available for parents and pupils across Sevenoaks.
