Wisbech’s new secondary school has offered places to everyone who applied for its first intake from September. 

The Wisbech Academy had its opening brought forward because there is such high demand for secondary school places in the town.  

The trust running the school has previously said up to 120 students for Year 7 will initially be accommodated. 

It received “more than 100 applications” and all were offered a place, taking the pressure off nearby secondary schools which are already oversubscribed. 

The Wisbech Academy will be built next to Thomas Clarkson Academy and Richard Scott is now executive principal of both schools. 

He said: “We are pleased that more than 100 applications were received by the deadline, and we have been able to offer a place to everyone that has applied.  

“We also expect some further late applications to be made as well.” 

He added: “We are continuing to work closely with Cambridgeshire County Council’s admissions team to ensure that anyone that had previously not been allocated a school place has had the opportunity to apply.”  

Hayley Belsham, and her daughter Tilly-Mae, are among the families in and around Wisbech relieved to have been offered a place at The Wisbech Academy.

In March, Tilly was allocated a place at a secondary school in Littleport which, at the time because of road closures, was an hour’s drive away.  

Hayley said: “We’re very relieved that Tilly now has a place at a secondary school closer to home. 

“She’s really excited and we’re looking forward to the upcoming taster day that has been arranged for July.” 

The Wisbech Academy was expected to open in 2026. 

But Cambridgeshire County Council and the Department for Education brought that forward when it emerged the area’s secondary schools were oversubscribed.  

A temporary school building is due to be put in place over the summer months, with initial work starting over the next few weeks. 

In September, it is expected that Year 7 students at The Wisbech Academy will be taught within a separate area within the Thomas Clarkson Academy building initially. 

They will then move across into the new phase one school building before autumn half term. 

Both Thomas Clarkson Academy and The Wisbech Academy are run by the Brooke Weston Trust.