“...And still no one has come up with any tangible benefits of this new merged school. Please can someone give me some REAL benefits, as opposed to stupid selfish reasons such as 'I don't need to drive little Johnny for 15 miles now'!”

“Having re-read all the comments, several points should be clarified...firstly Wildernesse was the most improved secondary school in the area last year. Many parents with children attending both schools are oppossed to this project. Many are in favour. Many see the futility in saying anything, KCC will do what it wants regardless. But there are still many hurdles to jump through before everyone is happily sorted out on the Wildernesse site - Let's see how easy the planning process becomes for the Academy. I also don't understand the rush to open next year, when the actual academy won't be open for AT LEAST 2 years...oh yeah, I forgot about that election coming up...As for the concerns of those wanting a mixed school - you won't get one of those, according to the new Academy Gods, until every student who started this year at both schools reaches sixth form...unless, of course, the Academy decides that "after careful exploration we have determined that it is not financially viable to continue in a single sex environment, even though that was one of the only ways we could shut you all up when this whole process began - sorry!"”

“This academy is a political hot potato that KCC backing all the way. They have no money to improve Wildernesse or Bradbourne so without the Academy, they will have to use funds from some other project. There is no political will to stop it so it won't get stopped. The selection of the Head was fatally flawed, as she should have been looking to support her school staying as it was...instead she jumped at the chance for big bucks - and who can blame her. Glen Care Group have a corporate edict that mandates them to expand into areas such as Sevenoaks and this Academy will allow them to leverage their way in. Appleyards (the luckiest consultation firm in the history of the world! - imagine being the winning contractor for over 20 consecutive new academy builds - very impressive!) put out a survey parents that asks us questions about what we want in a new academy, then tweak what the Academy will do to fit the answers, all the while ignoring the one question they don't want to have answered - "Are You Interested in sending your child to the new Academy?" - 53% said NO. Why does no one talk about that?”

“An interesting cacophony of views but it still doesn¿t get around the fact that this ISLAND Nation desperately needs supportive apprenticeships with academic qualifications leading to even more home-grown fully trained engineers and scientists than there are now. In a few years time you will all be complaining about the general failure of the engineering and science dependent infrastructure. WE NEED MORE SCIENCES TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS tempered with the arts not the other way around. An Academy of Science and Art should be built in lieu of this current proposal.”

“this is the best news that education in 7oaks has had in years,hopefully the people of the area will get behind the school and stop bleating about another elitist grammar school in Kent”