Breakspeare School in Abbots Langley could be relocated to Croxley Green

The public consultation to move Breakspeare School from Abbots Langley to Croxley Green was launched by Hertfordshire County Council on Tuesday.

The council has eyed up the former Durrants School playing field in Manor Way as a new site for the school, which caters for children with severe learning difficulties.

Breakspeare School in Gallows Hill Lane has a capacity of 97 but the proposed school in Croxley Green is designed to offer 210 places.

In the letter sent out to consultees, the council says the current Abbots Langley site "does not have enough space" to expand with new special school places "urgently required" to meet the demand for children aged two to 19.

Breakspeare has been chosen to be expanded because it is the severe learning difficulty school in Hertfordshire with the most unmet demand for places.

The new site in Croxley Green is a straight-line distance of 3.3 miles from the current Abbots Langley setting.

The land, between Little Green Lane and Manor Way, was part of Durrants School, which was a secondary school that opened in 1939 before it closed in 1991.

Marked in red is the land in Croxley Green which is understood to have been eyed up for a new site for Breakspeare School. Credit: Google Maps

According to the Spring School Census 2021, 61 per cent of children at Breakspeare School lived closer to the Durrants site than the existing site in Abbots Langley.

The letter adds the proposed site would "significantly improve" the educational offer for children currently attending Breakspeare School and provide "much needed" additional places for local children.

If the relocation goes ahead, the council has hopes of opening the new school by January 2024.

All existing staff would transfer across to the new site and the council says this proposal would not cause any redundancies.

A consultation has been launched lasting until November 22. Further details can be found at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/consultations.