ILKLEY Grammar School has embarked on a consultation on the expansion of its catchment area within Menston.

The school is seeking views on a proposed expansion of the Priority 2 catchment area for admissions from September 2022.

The proposed change involves extending the boundary further within Menston and the LS29 area in order not to disadvantage the one residential street currently not included.

Mrs Carly Purnell Headteacher said: “Last year, following consultation, we expanded our Priority 2 catchment area to include High Royds Estate in Menston for admissions from September 2021. Inadvertently, this has resulted in Moorlands Crescent currently being the only street in Menston which is not included within the Priority 2 boundary. Given that children who live on Moorlands Crescent are most likely to attend Menston Primary, a Bradford school and a main ‘feeder’ primary for Ilkley Grammar School, the governors would now like to adjust the boundary for the Priority 2 catchment to include this residential street. Under the proposal, this would mean that children living on Moorlands Crescent would have an increased chance of securing a place at Ilkley Grammar School under the same criteria as all of their Menston friends, as they would live within the school’s defined Priority 2 catchment area, rather than, as is currently the case, be dealt with as out-of-area applicants.

“Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Leeds MDC have confirmed this anomaly, and have also highlighted the need to consider one other point for the sake of geographical consistency. Currently there is one further small area, covering Guiseley Road and High Royds Hall, which does not currently have any housing and could reasonably be included within our Menston boundary given its location. Should any development go ahead, these houses would then sit outside of our current Priority 2 catchment area. To avoid a further consultation, we are therefore including this area in our proposal, along with Moorlands Crescent, in order to achieve consistency and parity and to ensure that Menston is included in its entirety.”

Mrs Purnell added: “Extension of the Priority 2 catchment will not impact on allocation under Priority 1 and will not disadvantage those living in the residential estates in Menston which fall within the current Priority 2 area.”

The consultation runs until Friday, January 8, 2021. Following an analysis of the responses, a report will then be presented to the governors of the academy for a decision to be made to proceed or not.

Any comments or suggestions can be made to the following e mail address: consultation@ilkleygs.co.uk If you wish to send a response by post, please send it to Ilkley Grammar School directly.