New schools: The parts of England getting brand new academies - see which areas will benefit

• In some parts of England, primary schools have been closing due to a lack of children.
• But many other parts of the country say they need new schools in their area.
• Many of these are connected to new housing developments.
• But there is also a demand for state-run special education schools, with several set to open in the coming years.

The ‘disappearance’ of a number of English schools has made headlines recently - but many parts of the country are still clamouring for new ones to be built.

The East London borough of Hackney revealed last December that it would be closing down four of its primary schools this year, due to an ongoing decrease in the number of school-aged children. It isn’t the only part of the capital to be impacted either, with two closing down in Islington, and four closing down in both Southwark and Camden over the last few years, the i reports.

The UK’s population is considered to be aging, and the Office for National Statistics forecasts that the number of deaths will exceed the number of new children being born by the mid-2030s. But the story isn’t necessarily the same everywhere in England, with many parts of the country actively seeking new schools to meet local demand.

The Department for Education last week updated its list of local authorities seeking proposals for new academies or free schools across England, as well as those that have already been approved, or were under consideration. There were none currently listed in either the North East or the East Midlands, but it is worth noting that this information doesn’t necessarily cover all types of new or proposed schools (such as independent schools, for example) - so there could possibly be more in the works near you.

Here are the proposed new academies and free schools across the rest of the country:

North West

New schools which have already been approved or have plans under consideration in the North West include a special primary school in Lancaster, capable of caring for 54 children.

Wrexham Road, just out of Chester, is the site of a housing development, and there are plans to open a primary school for 315 children there by September 2026.

Yorkshire and the Humber

A new special secondary school for about 80 pupils is set to open in Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, in April next year.

Meanwhile down in South Yorkshire’s Royston, near Barnsley, a mainstream primary school with a proposed roll size of 210 pupils is planned.

East of England

Peterborough City Council is seeking bids for a new primary school in the Great Haddon development area, capable of taking up to 420 pupils.

Over in Suffolk, a planned primary school for 210 pupils in the Henley Gate development, in Ipswich, is scheduled to open in September 2026.

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West Midlands

A primary school for the St John’s Grange housing development in Lichfield, Staffordshire, is scheduled to open in September 2025. It will be able to host some 210 pupils.

Over in Worcestershire’s Redditch, a 400-pupil first school (a type of primary school which takes children up to the age of about eight or nine), is set to open by September 2027 in the Foxlydiate neighbourhood.

South East

Over in Berkshire’s Bracknell Forest, a new secondary school for students with special educational needs will open in September next year. It will be in the Warfield area, and will be able to host about 50 pupils.

In the Hartland Village development, in Fleet, Hampshire, a new primary school for about 420 pupils is set to open by September 2026.

Meanwhile is Oxfordshire’s Didcot, a large new primary school for about 630 children is planned in the Valley Park housing development area. It is also expected to open by September 2026.

South West

Bath and North East Somerset is seeking bids for a brand new special education secondary school in Keynsham, in the outskirts of Bristol. They want it to be able take at least 30 pupils.

Greater London

Over in East London’s Havering borough, a planned all-through special school for about 300 pupils is set to open in Romford by September 2027.

Is your part of the country seeking new schools, or seeing them shut down? Let us know why you think this might be by leaving a comment below.