The discussion can be seen and heard on the Council website at from minutes 3.45 to 45.

Cllr Crookdake’s statement on a ‘Ward Concern’ to the Education and Children’s Services Committee on 26 March 2026.

“Thomson House School governors are deeply concerned that the safety and wellbeing of pupils is being compromised by the school’s current location. When Thomson House opened in 2013 on a compromised site, governors were reassured by the council that the school would later relocate to the STAG site. However, in 2015, that plan changed. A secondary school was allocated to the site instead, without consultation. As a result, pupils are now being educated across two sites, with no dedicated outside play area, and with one site located next to a busy level crossing.

“No additional funding has been provided to cover the extra safety measures or the significant costs of operating a split-site school. Those duplicated costs are substantial. Thomson House runs two front offices, two kitchens, and three additional lunchtime teams of three supervisors each, on top of extra utilities, maintenance, and staffing pressures. This has a serious impact on the school’s budget.
The current accommodation also limits the school’s ability to support pupils with SEND and may even affect the school’s viability as a named provision.

It appears that there is some additional funding paid from the DfE.

“Its sports provision depends heavily on access to The Brewery site. Access is now uncertain, and any alternative would create further financial pressure. Meanwhile, pupils take playtimes on Mortlake Green, which is a public space.

“Many stakeholders, including the DFE and council have observed daily drop-off and pick-up arrangements, and there is wide agreement that the risks faced by pupils and families are simply unreasonable. I have circulated a video to members showing an unattended lorry rolling towards children and adults at the school gates. Had that happened only a few minutes earlier, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

“Thomson House did not choose to be in this position. It is the result of a council decision to replace a planned primary school site with a secondary school at STAG. There may now be an opportunity to return to the original plan if the DfE does not fund the secondary school. If that does not happen, then another solution must be found.

“I want to correct the record. In response to a written member question on 3 March, Council Leader, Gareth Roberts stated that the council does not own the school site by the level crossing. That is incorrect. The council does own the site and has leased it to Thomson House for 125 years.”

EastSheenMatters has received a complaint from Cllr Cambridge, who chaired the meeting, about the paragraph above (also quoted in yesterday’s post giving notice of the meeting). She refers to the written response. For clarification this is quoted in full below. Cllr Cambridge also herself during the meeting clarified the ownership position.

Cllr Crookdake continued: “The council has a direct interest and an ability to act. With council agreement, this site could potentially be swapped for another site at STAG and then developed to deliver more affordable homes. For the past 11 years, Thomson House has asked the local authority for a long-term solution to these safety and cost issues.

“My question is this: Will the council commit to work with the school to find a solution that addresses the serious safety concerns, reduces the financial burden on the school, and supports the delivery of more affordable homes?”