Consultation on changes to the school catchment areas for Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School in relation to the new primary school at Welborne, Fareham, due to open in September 2028

Hampshire County Council is reviewing and consulting upon the school catchment areas for Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School to take account of the new housing development at Welborne, Fareham, and the new primary school being built there.

This consultation will run between Friday 5 June and Friday 3 July 2026.

What is being proposed?

The proposal is to change the school catchment areas for Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School to take account of the new housing and new primary school at Welborne, Fareham.

Welborne will comprise of approximately 6,000 new homes over the next 20 years. It is planned for three primary schools and a secondary school to be built on the new development, and the first primary school is due to open in September 2028, in the north of the site.

The first primary school would admit up to 30 places for Year R (age 4+) in its first year and will grow over time to a total of 60 pupils per year group, an overall total of 420 pupils, to cater for the expected demand from new residents. It is proposed that the new Welborne housing development, along with some existing dwellings to the north-east of the site, will form the catchment area for the new primary school.

Hampshire County Council is carrying out this informal consultation on the proposed catchment area changes to support a future statutory consultation on the 2028 Admission Arrangements for Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School. The catchment area for the new school will be determined by the future admission authority for that school.

It is proposed that the catchment boundary line for Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School will be changed to remove the area that the new primary school in Welborne will cover. Please follow the links below for a map showing the current catchment area for the Orchard Lea Schools together with a map showing the proposed catchment areas for the new Welborne school, Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School:

Current Catchment Area Map
Proposed Catchment Area Map

This proposal, if approved, removes the area shown in red on the proposed catchment area map from the catchment areas of Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School. Children living in the area in red on the map will no longer have a catchment priority at either Orchard Lea Infant School or Orchard Lea Junior School from September 2028.

For families in the affected area with children already in either school, the following transitional arrangements will be put in place:

• For Orchard Lea Infant School

Out-catchment children starting school for the first time, living in the portion of land which was previously in the catchment area for Orchard Lea Infant School before it changed in September 2028, and have a sibling on roll at Orchard Lea Infant School or Orchard Lea Junior School (who was on roll and living at the same address prior to the catchment change and will still be on roll at the time of the other child’s admission), will be given catchment, sibling priority for Orchard Lea Infant School, for up to and including admission in September 2031.

• For Orchard Lea Junior School

Out-catchment children starting junior school for the first time, living in the portion of land which was previously in the catchment area for Orchard Lea Junior School before it changed in September 2028, and have a sibling on roll at Orchard Lea Infant School or Orchard Lea Junior School (who was on roll and living at the same address prior to the catchment change and will still be on roll at the time of the other child’s admission), will be given catchment, sibling priority for Orchard Lea Junior School, for up to and including admission in September 2031.

It is therefore proposed that the catchment boundaries be redrawn for school admissions from September 2028 for Orchard Lea Infant School and Orchard Lea Junior School.

The Consultation

If you wish to make a comment, please write to Amanda Vaughan, Strategic Development Officer, Children’s Services Department, Elizabeth II Court, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 8UG or by email to: [email protected] by Friday 3 July 2026.

What happens after this consultation?

Any comments received will also be considered as part of the future statutory consultation on admission arrangements which takes place over six weeks in November and December 2026. A final decision which takes account of the statutory admissions consultation will be made by the Executive Member for Education in February 2027.