A new secondary school could open on the beleaguered adult education site it has emerged, after an academy expressed interest in it.

There have been five petitions signed by people worried about the future of Merton Adult Education (MAE) - currently the subject of a council review as it seeks to fill a £32m budget gap.

1,200 strong petition against plans to review adult education handed to council

The Harris Federation, which runs academies in Mitcham and Morden and is looking for a third site, has written to Merton Council to express interest in opening a secondary school in the Whatley Avenue home of MAE.

Wimbledon Times:

The site in Whatley Avenue, Raynes Park

President of Merton National Union of Teachers, Maurice Sharp, said the union was totally against Harris Federation moving in.

The council has made no secret of its support for Harris-run schools, with the cabinet member for education Martin Whelton strongly backing the charity on a number of occasions.

A council consultation on MAE’s future has been extended and residents now have until this Sunday, January 18, to complete online and paper questionnaires.

Posey Furnish, chair of governors at next door Joseph Hood Primary School said there is not enough space for a secondary school there.

Mrs Furnish said: "I can’t imagine what would go in there.

"Teenagers like to go outside at lunch times but there is no space for them outside."

Any changes at MAE could have a direct affect on the 300 children at the school, which shares an access road with the centre and borders the site.

Mrs Furnish said the school feels consistently marginalised in the whole process and they have to consider what is best for the children.

The consultation asks people to vote on five options for the future of adult education in the borough. A sixth option, to stop offering adult education altogether, was ruled out.

The options are to keep MAE as it is, for the council to form a shared service with South Thames College or another college, for the service to be commissioned out to another provider or to team up with Wandsworth.

The council’s director of community and housing, Simon Williams said: "Harris Federation has written to the council to express an interest in the Whatley Avenue site as a possible venue for a new secondary school, should the council decide to commission the service and the site then becomes available.

"As part of our statutory duty to provide school places, we have a duty to respond to expressions of interest in specific sites for schools, but first we need to find out residents’ views on the best way to continue to provide adult education services in the borough."

A spokesman for the Harris Federation said: "If the proposal for the new school is approved by the Government later this year, the Education Funding Agency (EFA), which finds sites for free schools, and Merton Council will then explore potential locations in more detail.

"The Whatley Avenue site is one that we and the EFA consider is worth exploring further for the proposed school. The ultimate decision on whether to make the site available will of course sit with Merton Council."

To take part in the consultation, visit the council’s website https://consult.merton.gov.uk/