The Liberal Democrat Leader has admitted a dramatic U-Turn on one of the most contentious subjects to come before Council. Parents have tirelessly campaigned for a new school in the Borough and Shadow Portfolio holder for Children and Young People Cllr Nick Kilby has criticised the administration for having been caught napping on such a crucial issue. It took an undeniable bulge in primary school pupil numbers and a tireless campaign from parent5s and Conservatives alike to finally convince the administration what was obvious: Kingston was running out of school places.

The rise in prospective pupil numbers were much higher than the Lib Dems had anticipated or planned for, and despite the warning from Conservatives, it fell to a last minute back-down to finally take the action that the Borough's concerned parents had been campaigning over for a decade.

The Lib Dems had previously branded the Conservatives 'deeply irresponsible'. But the go ahead was given on 1st December 2008 for a new secondary school to be built by 2014 with a capacity for 1, 200 pupils. The search for a possible site for the school to be built on is now under way.