April 12th, 2017
The Cambridge Educational Trust is given approval by the Department for Education to establish and run a secondary school in Godmanchester, accommodating 600-750 pupils aged from 11 to 16.
The school is now in the "Pre-Opening Phase".
No site for the school has yet been found. CET say that finding a suitable site for the school is the responsibility of LocatED, the government owned property company.
Letter from Free Schools Group
November 8th, 2017
David Underwood is quoted as saying that the Town Council is concerned that the school wasn't needed and that its presence would encourage further development.
November 24th, 2017
CET begins a process of consulting residents of Godmanchester to find out how much support there is in the town for a secondary school.
County Councillor Peter Downes says that the new school would have an adverse impact on existing secondary schools.
February 20th, 2018
Drop-in session at Queen Elizabeth School to get feedback from residents. They receive an overwhelmingly positive response.
May 8th, 2018
A suitable site has been found but it is currently designated B1, for Commercial Development, ie. offices. To build a school on the site the County Council has to give planning permission for a Change-of-Use to Educational.
The Cambridgeshire County Council won't support this application unless a clear demographic need can be demonstrated. In other words they would only approve the Change-of-Use if the two Huntingdon schools were over-subscribed.
May 24th, 2019
Cambridgeshire County Council make a statement that free schools planned in Godmanchester and Soham would have an adverse impact on existing schools. They have appealed to the Department for Education to prevent their creation.
January 30th, 2021
Cambridgeshire Educational Trust CET) merges with Morris Education Trust (MET) to form the Eastern Learning Alliance. Approval for their Free School proposal has now been withdrawn by central government, but they remain interested in principle in bringing Godmanchester a secondary school.