FOI release

School playing fields

Published 14 May 2012

  • Date requested: 23 April 2012
  • Publish date: 14 May 2012
  • Updated: 8 August 2012

1. Request

How many state schools have applied to sell off playing fields (land that can be used for grass sports pitches by the pupils) since the coalition government came to power in 2010 and how many of those have been approved?

Supplementary questions:

  • How much money has been raised through these sales?
    Please provide a list of the sales which names the schools
  • If a full list is unavailable, please give a reason why and provide instead a breakdown of how many were primary and how many were secondary and also a regional breakdown.

2. Release

Local authorities (LAs) do not apply to sell playing fields, they seek consent from the Secretary of State to dispose. A disposal can also include a lease of the playing fields to a third party organisation with the fields still used by the school. The Education Funding Agency do not request information from LAs about whether sites that have been approved for disposal are actually sold. We, therefore, do not hold information about the number of sales, the value of sales, or to whom the sales have been made.

The number of applications received since May 2010 is 22.
Approval has been given for 19 applications and 3 are under consideration.

2.1 Approved

School LA
Beaver Green School Kent LA
Heywood School Rochdale LA
High View School Plymouth LA
Estover Primary School Plymouth LA
Estover Comm College Plymouth LA
Woodhouse School Staffordshire LA
Saltersgill Special School Stockton-on-Tees LA
Dingleside School Worcestershire LA
The Winchcombe School West Berkshire LA
Kingsbury School Brent LA
Lord Lawson of Beamish School Gateshead LA
Dunningford School Havering LA
Clarborough School Nottinghamshire LA
Highfield School Tyneside LA
Low Bentham School North Yorkshire LA
Langcliffe School North Yorkshire LA
Pear Tree School Staffordshire LA
Nursery Fields School Staffordshire LA
Ingleton Middle School North Yorkshire LA

2.2 Under consideration

School LA
St Peter’s School Hampshire LA
Gorsthills School Cheshire West and Chester LA
Michael Drayton School Hampshire

2.3 Pre-2010

12 cases applied in 2008, with 11 being granted consent (1 withdrawn).

School LA
Longsight School Bolton LA
St Andrews School Bolton LA
Manor High School Sandwell LA
Shepherds Spring School Hampshire LA
Meadowlands Junior School Hampshire LA
Aston of Hever School Kent LA
North Leamington School and Arts College Warwickshire LA
Arnold Hill School Nottinghamshire LA
Manor High School Sandwell LA
The Crypt School Gloucestershire LA
Kingsdon Manor School Bristol City LA
Kingsfield School Cambridgeshire LA

16 cases applied in 2009, with 10 being granted consent (3 withdrawn and 3 rejected).

School LA
Moat House School Essex LA
Northampton College Northampton LA
Severnbanks School Gloucestershire LA
St Gregory’s School Liverpool LA
Park Lane School Reading LA
Twigworth School Gloucestershire LA
Waddon School Croydon LA
The Hewett School Norfolk LA
Vernon School Cheshire East LA
Massey Hall School Lancashire LA

4 cases applied Jan to Apr 2010, with 1 being granted consent (3 withdrawn).

School LA
St Katharine’s School Somerset LA

Since this response was sent to the requester on 14 May 2012 consent has been given in respect of:

  • St Peter’s School, Hampshire LA.
  • Gorsthills School, Cheshire West and Chester LA.

Still under consideration is an application in respect of:

  • Michael Drayton School, Hampshire LA.