Shrewsbury: plans for Catholic-Anglican academy school unveiled

Blessed Robert Johnson Catholic College

The trustees of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury have granted conditional approval to the closure of Blessed Robert Johnson Catholic College in Wellington, Shropshire, and its replacement with a new purpose-built joint Catholic-Anglican Church academy in the Priorslee area of Telford.

The decision of the trustees, agreed at a meeting of 23 April, follows a consultation carried out in March by the diocese which found substantial support for the proposal, with 126 parents, pupils and school governors in the Shropshire Regional Deanery Area in favour of the move while 38 respondents were opposed to it.

The respondents share with the Diocese a desire to secure the future of Catholic education in the area for pupils and students between the ages 11 and 18 years, and to secure subsidised transport for pupils and students travelling to the new academy, seven miles from the site of Blessed Robert Johnson College.

The approval by the diocesan trustees is conditional upon Telford and Wrekin Council providing written confirmation that: the trustees will incur no professional fees in the establishment of the proposed academy; the trustees will be compensated for recognised differential land values between the two sites; the trustees and the governing body of the proposed academy will be granted adequate human and financial resources by the Council to establish a new staffing structure and to transfer staff from Blessed Robert Johnson; the Council will continue to provide home-to-school transport for all eligible pupils who transfer from the college to the academy throughout their school careers, as well as for their siblings.

Father David Robert, Director of Education for the Diocese of Shrewsbury, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to ensure the continued provision of Catholic education in Shropshire. We also warmly welcome the ecumenical partnership which this proposed academy will bring to our educational mission.”

 For further information see:  www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org