A MUM-OF-THREE has started a campaign to have a secondary school built in a village. Knebworth woman Juliet Pomerance is gathering support for a voluntary-aided school to be built on land close to Lessiter's chocolate factory on London Road, Woolmer Green

A MUM-OF-THREE has started a campaign to have a secondary school built in a village.

Knebworth woman Juliet Pomerance is gathering support for a voluntary-aided school to be built on land close to Lessiter's chocolate factory on London Road, Woolmer Green.

The 39-year-old said: "We have got 424 children in the junior school and when they have finished they haven't got a suitable place to go to.

"Some have to go right to the other end of Stevenage and they are split up from their friends.

"Families are moving out of the village. Knebworth is going to have a lot of old people in the village but no young families. Having no secondary school puts people off living here."

Ms Pomerance, of Westland Road, said the idea for a secondary school on the site was looked at about four years ago by the land owner, Henry Lytton Cobbold, but it was decided there were not enough children to justify the build. But, she said, there were enough youngsters now.

Ms Pomerance added: "We have got a site for the secondary school, which doesn't overlook any houses, and we have the children for it."

Ms Pomerance has a petition in most of the village shops, is planning an online petition, and spoke about the idea to Knebworth Parish Council at its annual meeting last week.

She said: "Somebody has got to do something about it."

Knebworth Parish Council chairman John Bantick said: "We would all be pleased to have a secondary school on our doorstep and only time will tell if the county council will be doing anything.

"As the proposed school is in the Woolmer Green area, we at Knebworth parish would have little say on the issue.

"At the annual parish meeting, the local councillor for Knebworth, who cannot talk on the issue until the June election, implied that once the large school proposed for the north of Stevenage is completed, places at schools in the south of Stevenage would be freed up to serve neighbouring areas.

"This could be an alternative solution."

A county council spokeswoman told the WHT there was too small a demand to warrant a secondary school in the area.