Town 'being held back' without a secondary school

Hundreds of people are backing calls to get a new secondary school in a seaside town, campaigners have said.

Monks Dyke Tennyson College, the only state high school in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, closed in 2016 due to falling pupil numbers and poor exam results.

Members of the group Sutton, Trusthorpe and Mablethorpe Project (STaMP) believe the town is being held back without a replacement.

The Department for Education (DfE) said councils were responsible for making sure there were enough places available to serve the local population and there had not been a need identified for a new one in the town.

STaMP sent a questionnaire to 5,000 homes in the area. Of the 323 responses, they said 97.5% (315) supported the campaign for a local secondary school and 269 parents said they would send their children there.

Currently, the nearest secondary schools to Mablethorpe are John Spendluffe Technology College in Alford, which is eight miles (12.8km) away, Somercotes Academy in North Somercotes, which is 11 miles (17.7km) away and Skegness Academy, which is 17 miles (27.3km) away.

Many children get the bus to the schools or are taken by car.

Mother-of-three Jade Smith, who has lived in Sutton on Sea since 2024 and is supporting the campaign, said her younger children go to a primary school locally, but her eldest daughter gets the bus to secondary school in Alford.

"It takes approximately 40 minutes, it's a long day for her, especially after school," she said.

Jade said she does not drive, so getting to the school was a challenge.

"If she's poorly or she needs to come home for some reason, if she's forgotten school supplies, it's hard to get her home or get things to her if she needs them.

"There's been occasions where she's forgotten PE kits and things and she's had to be in isolation for it."

As well as the long journey, Jade said relying on the bus meant her daughter was not always able to take part in school activities.

"She misses out on a lot of the social aspect of school. She misses out on critical friendship groups, after-school clubs, extracurricular activities."

Gemma Gill said her daughter, who is now 19, had to travel by bus to attend the second school in Alford, which was a challenge.

"She's got anxiety, so going on that long bus journey on her own, she really struggled with. She would have preferred a school that was close by.

"I think it [new secondary school] is a really good idea and would benefit a lot of children in the area, so they don't have to travel as much."

Pauline Palmer, chairwoman of the group, said they believed there was "definitely still a need".

"269 parents said they would send their child to a school in Mablethorpe. Some of them have two or more children, so the number could be much higher."

Mablethorpe, Trusthorpe and Sutton on Sea have a combined population of 12,498, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The area falls within the East Lindsey district, where 30.6 per cent of people are aged 65 and over, compared with the England average of 18.6 per cent, according to government figures.

Without a secondary school, Steve Palmer, who is part of the campaign group, said the town was being held back.

"If you say it's because of the elderly population, but you're not encouraging younger people in, then yes, it will become true.

"Without our kids being educated properly, locally, I feel the Mablethorpe area is being held back because we're having to bus our children out, adding an hour and 20 minutes on to their day, maybe a bit longer.

"It's just not fair, really."

When Monks Dyke Tennyson College closed, a Lincolnshire County Council report said only 171 pupils were being taught there.

The school, formerly Tennyson High School, had been merged with Monks Dyke Technology College in Louth in 2012, but it lasted just four years.

The former school has now been demolished, with part of the site being used by the Springwell Alternative Academy, which provides an education for children who cannot attend mainstream school for social, emotional or mental health reasons.

Mablethorpe is among the most deprived areas in the country, according to government figures, with 64% of children living in low income families.

There has been investment into the town with a new leisure centre built in 2024. Last year an £8.6m Campus For Future Living opened as part of a project to tackle health and social care inequalities.

The need for a secondary school would be identified by the local council, before a decision was then made by the DfE.

Matthew Clayton, head of education support at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "They (DfE) would first want to see evidence that the projected demand for places meets their criteria. However, there's currently no indication that pupil numbers in Mablethorpe will rise to that level.

"As always, we will continue to monitor the situation and keep local school place provision under review."

Local MP Victoria Atkins, the Conservative member for Louth and Horncastle, said she would "wholeheartedly" support a new school if enough students in the area met the DfE threshold.

However, she said it was likely that pupil numbers would be too low.

"When I was previously heavily involved in an attempt to form a free school in the area, it was unsuccessful because there was too low a number of students to secure funding from the DfE, which I believe is, unfortunately, still the case today."