A HEADTEACHER breathed a sigh of relief as work began to bring a sixth form to his school after fears of funding cuts.

Bicester’s Cooper School, in Churchill Road, is getting a £4.4m sixth form, which will extend its leaving age from 16 to 18.

Funding was agreed by Oxfordshire County Council, shortly before spending cuts led to other school projects being shelved.

Cranes are on site and the building is beginning to take shape.

Work is expected to be completed next July, allowing the sixth form to be able to take 100 new students from September.

Headteacher Ben Baxter said: “We only found out we were getting the buildings in late July and builders moved in virtually straight away.

“We were worried it might not happen, so breathed a sigh of relief when the builders came on site.”

He added: “I think the tide of political will was with us, as there was only one college in Bicester – which is a situation which needed to be addressed.

“The number of pupils continuing on past the age of 16 in Bicester has always been historically low, so hopefully this will help solve that.”

He said: “This is the first time in living memory that a school in this area has changed from teaching 11-16 years olds, to 11-18 year olds. We are all very excited about the opportunities this will open up for both staff and pupils.”

Year 11 pupils at the school said they were looking forward to having a new sixth form.

James Allen, 15, said: “Before this, I would have had to travel around 30 minutes to Gosford. That would have cost me £360 a year to get there.

“But now I can stay here in familiar surroundings – and the new building is going to be great.”

Lorraine Palmer, 16, said she was looking forward to studying with her friends.

She said: “I’d like to do veterinary studies, so staying at a specialist science school will be really good for me.”

And Anita Tafirenyika, 15, said: “Now I’ll be able to stay in bed a bit longer, which sounds great to me.

“I think I’m going to do history or English as they are my favourite subjects.”

Cate Mallalieu-Needle, director of sixth form studies, said: “At the minute we are working on the prospectus and dress code. It is becoming tangibly real to the students now they can see it going up and we’ve had interest from pupils elsewhere too.

“This is is all about giving people individual choice, and offering them ambition and support on their doorstep.”

The school also received a Government grant of £600,000 to make the building environmentally friendly, as part of controversial plans to build an ‘eco town’ to the north west of Bicester.

rpope@oxfordmail.co.uk