MAJOR plans to open a new secondary school in Perranporth have been scrapped.

The Department for Education has decided to abandon a proposal to build Perranporth Academy on land off Liskey Hill as “there is not sufficient need for additional places to justify building a whole new school.”

The proposed 1,050 place Perranporth secondary school was due to help alleviate pressure on the four secondary schools that the children in the area attend, which include Treviglas Academy and Tretherras in Newquay as well as Richard Lander and Penair in Truro.

Perranporth Academy was due to be unveiled in September 2025, but the Department for Education delayed the scheduled opening to September 2026 as a "result of local planning considerations for pupil places in relation to local demographics.”

The Department for Education has now stated: “We have carefully considered all of the evidence and there is not sufficient need for additional places to justify building a whole new school.

“The Government is committed to making sure there are enough school places in Perranporth.”

Perranporth Academy would have been part of the Truro and Penwith Academy Trust, which already supports 29 infant, primary and secondary schools across Cornwall including schools already in Perranporth, Mithian and Blackwater.

The Trust said: "Cornish children, families and communities will be worse off in years to come as a result of this short-term decision making.

“The new academy would have been "Cornwall's flagship for inclusive education" due to the planned purpose-built special educational needs and disabilities hub.”

Camborne, Redruth and Hayle MP Perran Moon, whose constituency covers Perranporth, believes the decision will need to be “revisited” due to the number of houses being built, particularly at Langarth.

Mr Moon said: “I am extremely disappointed that it appears that a case has been made within Cornwall that there is no requirement for a new secondary school in Perranporth and that there is adequate provision through existing facilities.

“As a result, the Department for Education has indicated that they are minded to cancel Perranporth Academy.

“With the completion of the Langarth development on the edge of Truro, the area’s very high housing targets over the next few years and the economic growth that we are expecting across the Duchy, I believe that a lack of provision will require this view to be revisited.

“To that end, I am writing to Cornwall Council to ask them to provide me with the specific data on local school capacity and future housing growth that they provided to the Department for Education, which supported the Department’s current position.

“However, I am encouraged by the announcement of a £3bn national package of Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) support, and I will be campaigning to bring as much of that support as possible to Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, in order to relieve some of our SEND pressures.

“Although a setback, I do not consider this the end of the road and I would like to reassure the people of Perranporth, St Agnes and surrounding villages that I intend to continue to make the case for the new school.”

Perranzabuloe Parish Council says it is “deeply concerned” and “extremely disappointed” the Department for Education has cancelled the proposed Perranporth Academy, based on the view that there is “no requirement” for a new secondary school and that existing provision is considered “adequate.”

A council spokesperson said: “This conclusion is deeply concerning to the parish council and to our community. With significant housing growth planned across Cornwall, including the completion of the Langarth development on the edge of Truro, alongside very high housing targets and anticipated economic growth across the Duchy, it is difficult to understand how future demand for secondary school places in this area has been judged to be sufficiently met.

“It strongly believes that the data underpinning this position will need to be revisited. The parish council therefore supports the call for Cornwall Council to provide transparency around the school capacity and housing growth data that was submitted to the Department for Education and which appears to have informed its current stance.

“While this news is a major setback for the Parish of Perranzabuloe, St Agnes and surrounding villages, it is encouraged that efforts to challenge this decision are continuing at a national level. Over the past year, sustained representations have been made to Ministers, the Treasury and in Parliament, alongside a significant public petition demonstrating strong local support for the academy.

“That level of advocacy reflects the strength of feeling in our community and the importance of this project for the long-term sustainability of education provision in the area.The Parish Council also notes the recent announcement of a £3 billion national investment in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support and welcomes efforts to ensure that Camborne, Redruth and Hayle receive a fair share of this funding to help relieve existing pressures.

“The parish council does not consider this matter closed. It remains committed to working with our MP, Cornwall Council and other partners to ensure that the educational needs of current and future residents are properly recognised and planned for.

“It shares the disappointment that this news will bring to local families and young people, but it will continue to support all efforts to make the strongest possible case for a new secondary school for our community.”

The new Perranporth secondary school was due to be among 21 new free schools nationally that were announced in Wave 14 of the Free Schools Programme by the Department for Education.

Cornwall Council announced its support for local trusts to bid in the Free School programme for a new secondary school in the north coast area in 2019 to ensure sufficient school places across the Truro and Newquay area.

Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson said: “To make today’s investment happen, some mainstream free school projects will not go ahead.

“Pupil numbers are falling, while young people with SEND rises sharply, with 400,000 more pupils with SEND than in 2020. The reasons for doing this are clear.

“Since 2010, over £325 million has been spent on free schools that subsequently closed, some after opening with only a handful of pupils. That money could and should have been better invested in schools that were crumbling, or more mainstream specialist SEND places.

“So instead of adding free schools where places already exist, we are delivering tens of thousands of new places to better support pupils with SEND in a school that is close to home.”