I have now visited all secondary schools in Fareham, and am doing the same with our local primary schools, to see for myself the hard work of pupils and express my gratitude for the dedication of their teachers. It is always good to hear from them their views on how our education system can be improved.

Providing new A Level places in Fareham is of critical importance, and the need is clear: currently, up to 1,200 young learners travel out of the Fareham District to access post-16 opportunities at either FE Colleges or sixth form colleges further afield. This is estimated to cost £500-800 per year per student in travel, whilst the time cost in travel can be up to 90 minutes each way. It cannot be right that so many local students are having to travel long distances to get the education they deserve, so we need local solutions.

Campaigning on this issue was one of my main elections pledges, and I raised it in my maiden speech in the House of Commons. I have since been working hard alongside local schools, and in particular Cams Hill School, which is looking to apply for Free School status to develop a sixth-form at its existing site in Fareham, providing A Level places for as many as 500 students. The team there is very enthusiastic, and we are getting a lot of support from parents, other schools, and the local community. With continued such support, I am optimistic we can make progress towards bringing A Levels back to Fareham.

Here is a local news link about the beginning stages of the project:  http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/education/volunteers-wanted-to-bring-a-levels-back-in-to-town-1-7113167