Edgbarrow, Ranelagh and King's Academy Binfield are oversubscribed; Garth Hill and Sandhurst have room, the council says. Cabinet approves its plan 13 October.
Bracknell Forest has enough school places overall, but they are in the wrong places. That is the council’s own verdict in its Education Sufficiency Strategy 2026 to 2031, which Cabinet is asked to approve next Tuesday, 13 October (Cabinet agenda, 13 October 2026).
The strategy names the schools that are full and the ones with spare places. It lands three weeks before the 31 October deadline for Year 7 applications.
The same meeting is asked to spend £6.76 million on new places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The longer plan is 173 new specialist places by September 2029.
Secondary schools: who is full and who has room
The strategy says secondary capacity “is sufficient overall”, but “oversubscription is concentrated in a small number of popular schools” (Education Sufficiency Strategy 2026 to 2031).
| School | Area | What the strategy says |
|---|---|---|
| Edgbarrow | Crowthorne and Sandhurst | Oversubscribed; has exceeded its admission number for some years |
| Ranelagh | South | Consistently oversubscribed; admissions prioritised on faith criteria |
| King’s Academy Binfield | North | Oversubscribed |
| King’s Academy Easthampstead Park | South | Surplus places historically, but demand rose and it met its intake for September 2025 |
| The Brakenhale School | South | Historically oversubscribed; demand fell from the 2024 intake |
| Garth Hill College | North | Under its admission number: 219 admitted in 2025 against 270 |
| Sandhurst School | Crowthorne and Sandhurst | Surplus places |
To cope with demand, Edgbarrow runs an extra intake every two years, admitting 30 pupils over its published admission number. The strategy says Sandhurst School’s numbers are affected by families moving in and out of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Primary schools: the same mismatch
The borough has 29 primary schools. The strategy says all are rated Good or better, but surplus places are uneven. Small one-form entry schools make up 38% of the estate, and some “face sustained under-enrolment and financial risk”.
By area, the strategy says:
- North: King’s Academy Binfield, Warfield CofE and Whitegrove are oversubscribed. King’s Academy Meadow Vale and Sandy Lane have surplus places, though Sandy Lane’s surplus is shrinking.
- South: Crown Wood and Harmans Water remain popular. St Michael’s CofE has seen admissions fall and is operating under its admission number.
- Crowthorne and Sandhurst: Crowthorne CofE and Uplands are consistently full. Owlsmoor and College Town have surplus places, both affected by military families moving.
A “vulnerable schools sustainability plan” is under review “to explore viable long-term options”. The strategy does not name the schools in it. Its options include changing admission numbers or repurposing sites. Separately, it lists school closures among the risks to capacity it has to plan for.
The council’s main tools for short-term pressure are bulge years: taking an extra class in one year group without permanently changing a school’s admission number.
173 specialist places by 2029
The strategy says a quarter of children aged 4 to 16 with an Education, Health and Care Plan are educated outside the borough. The 2025 SEND inspection of the local area named a lack of local specialist provision as a weakness (SEND capital programme report).
The capital programme report sets a target of 95 specialist base places and 78 special school places by September 2029. Year one is 15 base places and 10 special school places, open by September 2027, subject to approvals.
The sites named so far:
- The Pines specialist base: 30 extra places for autism, speech and language, and learning needs. We reported on this unit on 29 September, when the council’s procurement decision described it as 50 places. This report counts 30 additional places by 2029.
- Great Hollands Primary: 20 places for broad neurodiversity needs, with the council in talks with the trust.
- Forest View School: 20 autism places, funded and delivered by the Department for Education. Its opening date is still to be confirmed by the DfE.
- Hawthorn Academy satellite, former College Hall site: 20 autism places, in talks with the trust.
- King’s Academy Easthampstead Park: 20 places for broad neurodiversity needs. This one only goes ahead if more government money arrives in April 2027, or another project comes in under budget.
The programme also covers a redevelopment of the Child Development Centre and adaptations to create inclusion bases in mainstream schools.
The money, and a gap in it
Cabinet is asked to approve spending £6,763,894 of education capital grant. Most of it, £5,051,266, is the High Needs Place Capital Allocation.
The report is not consistent on what that buys. The table footnote says every project except Easthampstead Park can be delivered. The finance advice lists only The Pines, Great Hollands, the mainstream adaptations and the Child Development Centre. It says the rest “would only commence when additional funding has become available”. The cost of each project is in a confidential appendix.
College Hall sale put on hold
Cabinet is also asked to pause the sale of the College Hall site. It would be reviewed for permanent SEND use instead.
The site is currently in use while the new Hawthorn Academy school for social, emotional and mental health needs is built on the former All Saints site in Warfield. That work is due to finish in February 2027.
Pausing the sale means using £0.5 million of grant to replace the money the council expected from it, which was supporting the Hawthorn Academy build.
What it means for you
- Year 6 parents: the deadline for Year 7 applications for September 2027 is Saturday 31 October. Offers come on 1 March 2027 (Bracknell Forest Council, key dates). If you are putting Edgbarrow, Ranelagh or King’s Academy Binfield first, the council’s own strategy says they are oversubscribed. Use all your preferences.
- Parents of children with SEND: the new places are mostly 2027 to 2029. The first 25 places are due by September 2027, subject to approvals.
- Families near small primary schools: watch for the vulnerable schools plan. The strategy does not say what it will propose.
The strategy was consulted on from 1 May to 24 July. The council received 38 survey responses, plus feedback from schools, trusts and the parent carer forum (consultation report).
Cabinet meets at 6.30pm on Tuesday 13 October at Time Square, Market Street. Term dates for the year are on our school term dates page.
Have your say