Suffolk County Council is preparing to approve academy trusts to oversee two new primary schools intended to serve expanding communities in Felixstowe and Brightwell Lakes. The Cabinet is scheduled to consider the proposals at a meeting on Tuesday 27 January, ahead of the schools’ planned opening in 2028.
The new schools will be located within the North Felixstowe Garden Neighbourhood and the Brightwell Lakes development on Ipswich’s eastern edge, creating hundreds of additional school places for families moving into the areas. Cabinet members will be asked to endorse Unity Schools Partnership as the preferred trust for the North Felixstowe primary, and Children’s Endeavour Trust for the Brightwell Lakes school.
The recommended trusts were selected following a competitive process that received eleven applications. Three were shortlisted and interviewed in July 2025 by a panel of council officers and local councillors, assessing their experience and capacity to establish and operate the new schools. Subject to Cabinet approval, the council will submit its recommendations to the Secretary of State for Education, with the Department for Education’s Regional Director making the final decision.
The Brightwell Lakes primary will be a two-form entry school, providing up to 420 places including early years provision, and designed to expand alongside the development. The North Felixstowe school will initially offer one-form entry with 210 places, also including early years provision, and is expected to be the first of two planned primary schools for the wider Trelawny Place garden neighbourhood.
Cllr Andrew Reid, Cabinet Member for Education and SEND, said: “We were pleased at the level of interest we received for these two new Suffolk schools and the high number of applications to run them. We hope that the appointment of academy trusts at this stage will allow them to be involved in the final phases of school design and operational planning, helping to ensure the schools are ready to open on time and deliver high-quality education from the outset.”
Both schools will be designed to be carbon neutral, with strong walking and cycling links to surrounding homes, outdoor sports facilities, and community access to school facilities. Placing schools within the new developments will enable local families to access education conveniently while reducing the need for additional home-to-school transport.
