The head of a sought-after grammar has called for a non-selective comprehensive to be re-opened nearby to ease pressures caused by rapid growth in the area.

Boss of Cranbrook School, David Clark, says a replacement to the failing High Weald Academy, which shut nearly two years ago, is necessary to service the house-building happening locally.

In the lead-up to the general election, Mr Clark said he hopes a new Labour government will pledge support for the selective education system while taking a swipe at the Tories for not recognising its own shortcomings.

His school - one of just a handful of state boarding schools in the UK - has a capacity of 940, of which 240 are fee-paying boarders but who are educated for free.

But local education commentators do not believe there is enough demand for the new school.

Mr Clark, who formerly worked at an independent school, said: “We are campaigning hard here in Cranbrook for this extra secondary school.

“We are supporting the parish council as robustly as we possibly can to reopen a non-selective secondary school to support the Cranbrook community.”

The loss of High Weald Academy has resulted in young children having to spend hours each day on buses and missing out on extra-curricular activities.

Mr Clark said a “colossal” amount of money - reportedly more than £10m - had been spent on High Weald before its eventual closure.

He added: “If closing the school is the right thing to do, fine, but don’t spend money on it. That is what has really upset people, especially when they keep being told there is no money.

“Of course people are angry - these are their taxes being squandered.”

Mr Clark said there is a willingness to work with Kent County Council (KCC) to “make decisions together”.

He added: “We will work with anyone who wants to invest in education in Cranbrook and we want to see an empowered KCC facilitate that.

“I am not underplaying the complexities of managing education in Kent but I would like to see closer partnership between schools and KCC and more decision-making locally.”

He added: “The other frustration is house-building - there’s an awful lot of house-building in this area. I don’t know about it being too much but the fact is these are family homes being built. Where are the children of these families going to be educated?

“We’re not asking for a new school, we’re asking for a school that’s already there. That is within the realms of possibility. The building is there, parking is there and the infrastructure is there - just reopen it at a fraction of the cost. That’s what we’re asking for.”

Mr Clark hopes that should Bridget Phillipson become the new Labour Secretary of State after July 4 that selective education in Kent will continue.

He added: “We hope that she will support the continuation of selective education - but who knows?

“I sense that ‘none of the above’ is the most popular voting option at this election. The Conservatives are blaming [Nigel] Farage instead of blaming themselves.

“If you are a Conservative Party, behave in a Conservative manner but don’t blame external forces for your demise. Look inwards, look at yourselves. What have you done to alienate your core vote?”

Chairman of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council, Kim Fletcher, said the community had become isolated with no secondary schools within a 10-mile radius in any direction.

He suggested there is space at the old High Weald site, now run by the Leigh Academies Trust, for another school, possibly Mascalls Academy, to run a satellite there.

Mr Fletcher said that Cranbrook, Hawkhurst, Staplehurst and Biddenden - which fall into the Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Ashford boroughs - have collectively absorbed 1,000 new homes in the past three years, creating demand for school places.

He added: “We need a bit of honesty from KCC and a rigorous discussion with the Department for Education (DfE).

“KCC said there is not enough demand for it [a new school]. It doesn’t make sense.”

If Labour does fulfil its election pledge to abolish the VAT relief enjoyed by private schools, it will merely heap further pressure on local state education providers, he argued.

Critics have speculated parents will withdraw children if fees are passed on or the schools themselves go under.

He added: “Already there are people who are talking about taking their kids out of private schools. It is alright for Eton but the small schools have no fat to cut or cash in the bank.

“In some cases, if you lose three children out of each year group, the school becomes unviable. It will put pressure on the state sector.”

KCC cabinet member for education, Cllr Rory Love, said the closure was driven by a falling roll at High Weald Academy - it had only 276 pupils but a 900 capacity. It was a Deprtment for Education decision (DfE), not KCC’s he added.

Cllr Love added: “We do not, ourselves, intend to seek to establish a new school to replace High Weald Academy, but other routes do exist to establishing new schools through the DfE.

“We are aware that a local group is seeking to encourage the DfE to do so, and both the assistant director for education in west Kent and I recently attended a meeting in Cranbrook with a number of local parish councils to outline the process they would need to follow, and the case they would need to make, for the establishment of a new free school.

“The meeting was organised by my colleague, County Councillor Seán Holden, the local KCC member.

Cllr Love set out the demand for secondary placements in the local area.

He added: “In terms of current school capacity in the Cranbrook area, there were 64 children living within the Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish applying for a Year 7 place to start this September.

“Twenty-eight of those had a first preference for a non-selective school. Of the 36 within the parish that had a first preference for a selective school, all gave a first preference for Cranbrook School, of which 25 were offered a place by the selective academy, which is graded “good” by Ofsted.

“All the secondary schools offered to pupils living within the parish are currently graded “good” or “outstanding”.

“Why would KCC take the risk of sponsoring a new school? Why would anyone take that risk?”

“KCC continually reviews the need for school places to ensure sufficient provision in both the short and long term, working with borough councils as they develop their housing plans.

“There is currently no forecast need for the re-establishment of a non-selective secondary within Cranbrook in order to ensure a sufficient number of school places are available.

“The nearest non-selective school had 59 spare Year 7 places for this September at offer day in April. I believe these numbers will give an indication of the hurdle to be overcome to make a case to the DfE for a new school. KCC has been honest about this hurdle in its help to the parish councils on this matter.”

Kent education commentator Peter Read said that KCC sets the bar at 180 admissions per school and does not believe that a new school could satisfy that demand, particularly as the birth rate is falling.

Only 24 schools have a roll of fewer than 180 and seven of less than 150, the latter of which all have special circumstances.

In October last year there were 18,506 children in Year 6 compared to 16,760 in reception classes, even before the potential effects of Covid-19 washes through.

The apparent falling birth rate may also be driven by economic factors such as the cost-of-living crisis, rising mortgage payments and inflation.

He said: “I have every sympathy for the parents of the High Weald Academy children. It is a very difficult situation to be in.

“But why would KCC take the risk of sponsoring a new school? Why would anyone take that risk?

“I just don’t think the numbers are there. It takes about five years to get a school underway.”

The Labour Party has promised to recruit 6,500 specialist teachers if it wins the general election.

Mr Read said: “The Labour Party hasn’t said where they are going to come from. Teachers in this country are not held in the same regard as they are in other countries.”

Many in teaching say they are facing huge pressures, burning out and leaving in droves.

Recently, more than 20% of educators surveyed by the Commission on Teacher Retention said they were unlikely to be in the profession in five years’ time.

KCC member for Cranbrook, Cllr Seán Holden, said: “It is perfectly understandable that parents want a school that is close but it appears that, based on the formulae used based on the expected intake, the numbers are just not there.”