Column by Thornbury and Yate MP Luke Hall.

After a hard fought local campaign, the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson has announced that we have secured the vital Government funding for a brand-new secondary school in Lyde Green!

This new school is much needed to help keep up with the rate of housing growth in South Gloucestershire, take pressure off of our surrounding school systems and provide greater choice for parents.

The School will have 900 secondary places, so that children in Lyde Green, Yate, Pucklechurch, Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath and the neighbouring villages can attend a brand new school nearer home.

With the community’s support, I took this campaign straight to the top to get the bid over the line. Firstly, I took the fight to Parliament and raised the issue with the Secretary of State Gavin Williamson during a face-to-face meeting.

I then secured a debate in the House of Commons with Education Minister Nick Gibb, with both reacting in a positive way to the campaign.

The Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP even agreed with our campaign, stating that there is “an increasing need for places for secondary school-age pupils in this part of South Gloucestershire”.

Now, as the funding is confirmed, and following the overwhelming local support for the new school throughout public consultation, the next step is securing the planning permission, which is set to be decided next month.

Building this Lyde Green Secondary school is a key part of our Positive Plan for Schools and Family Life in South Gloucestershire, alongside building two new primary schools in Yate, redeveloping Castle School in Thornbury, building a new special school at Marlwood, improving special needs provision and delivering the £79 million of repairs and upgrades for South Gloucestershire schools.

With the funding for a new Lyde Green Secondary now in place, we have taken a big step forward on the path towards opening the school.

I will continue to keep you all updated on the progress of our campaign.

To find out more about our Positive Plan for Schools and Family Life, or if there is anything else that I can be of assistance with, please do not hesitate to get in touch; luke.hall.mp@parliament.uk.