HEADTEACHERS in Basingstoke have been extolling how their secondary schools are improving after the Gazette revealed the numbers of pupils travelling outside of the town for education.

The Gazette reported last week that, according to a Freedom of Information request, increasing number of secondary school aged children in Basingstoke are attending schools outside of the town, rising from 1,234 in 2017/2018, to 1,411 in 2018/2019.

This represents 19 per cent and 22 per cent respectively of pupil numbers, showing that almost a quarter of all children who live in the town go to schools in other areas.

However, schools in Basingstoke say they are also reporting record numbers of students with facilities continuing to improve.

Chris Edwards, Brighton Hill Community School headteacher, said: "I feel privileged to write as the Chair of the Basingstoke and Deane Secondary Heads and Principals group. Made up of the leaders of all secondary schools and colleges, it is this group of people which is committed to driving forward 11-18 education in Basingstoke and Deane, serving our community, whilst reversing the trends which may have been seen in the past.

"As a team of school/college leaders, we will always be faced with issues relating to student recruitment; it is right that the parent should make the choice of school for their child, whether that is their local school or one farther afield.

"However, the schools and colleges in Basingstoke are united in collaboration to ensure that we can offer the best education, not only in our individual communities, but in the borough as a whole.

"Despite the fact that we are largely a relatively new group of school/college leaders, we have witnessed some significant strides forward in recent times.

"Two of our schools boast exam results which are amongst the most improved in the county, with the vast majority of other schools posting enhanced exam scores.

"Several of our town’s schools are growing at staggering rates, recruiting record numbers of students dwarfing the perceived growth of those schools in Winchester which was reported last week, whilst our colleges lead the way, not only in the local area, but also on a national scale.

"Our unified approach continues to make us stronger as an educational borough.

"Imminently, we await news on a joint application to be a pilot area for the government’s national programme for mental health and wellbeing, which will be a huge coup for our young people in our local area and an opportunity for us, as a town, to lead positive change on a countrywide level."