Northampton parents to march two-mile school route after plans for new secondary are scrapped
Families who moved into homes on a new Northampton estate are set to march across part of town to show their frustration over plans to build a dedicated secondary school being scrapped.
A new 900-place secondary school, set to be run by Wootton Park Trust, was earmarked for the Dallington Grange development, near Kings Heath and Duston.
However, funding was later axed by the Department for Education (DfE) following a national review of school-building projects, which suggested there was not enough “long-term need” in the area.
Parents are organising a demonstration walk on Sunday, September 13, from Harlestone Grange to Kingsthorpe College – one of the alternative secondary schools suggested to parents – to demonstrate the distance and safety concerns their children could face.
They say children deserve “safe, realistic access to education” on the estate and could face walks of more than two miles each way to alternative secondary schools.
Barbara, a mum living on the new estate, said the proposed secondary school was one of the main reasons she bought a house in the area.
She told the LDRS: “A secondary school should be, in my opinion, a community school where [students] can easily walk or easily take the bus.
“The walk from Harlestone Grange to Kingsthorpe College is an hour and a half, more or less, on a route that’s unsafe – otherwise the parents will need to commute by car.”
Daniela, another parent, said she was only told the school had been cancelled after moving into her new home earlier this year.
She raised concerns about a lack of public transport connections to existing secondary schools and a potential “massive spike” in car dependency.
Dallington Spencer councillor and Labour group leader Sally Keeble said the decision was a “smack in the face” for people who had “uprooted their families” to buy homes expecting a secondary school to be built.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said the decision not to proceed with the school was made by the DfE and confirmed to the council in December 2025.
A spokesperson added: “Current forecasts show there is sufficient secondary school capacity across West Northamptonshire, including available places at nearby schools.”
WNC said it remained committed to ensuring there were enough high-quality school places and would continue planning for future housing growth.
Parents will meet on the estate at midday on September 13 before walking to Kingsthorpe College.