LATE starts and a lax dress code could be part of the culture at a ‘desperately-needed’ Oxford school.

Plans are progressing to build the 1,260-pupil Swan School in Marston by September 2019, on the controversial site of the Harlow Centre.

More details were revealed at a consultation event on Monday, including proposals to ditch uniform and run the school day from 9.30am-4.30pm to combat congestion.

A consultation booklet handed out at the event at New Marston Primary School states: “We are open-minded about the need for uniform...schools do not need a uniform to provide an excellent education.”

It notes The Cherwell School in Oxford, run by the same academy trust as The Swan School (The River Learning Trust), also does not have uniform.

The school has also published its proposed catchment area, which overlaps Cherwell’s but also stretches across Barton, Carfax, St Clement’s and New Osney.

Paul James, chief executive of The River Learning Trust, stressed that nothing is set in stone and encouraged parents to have their say during the six-week consultation.

He said: “This is an important opportunity for prospective parents and the local community to help shape the nature of the school and ultimately the benefits it will have for the thousands of young people who will walk through its doors.”

Duncan Hatfield, vice-chair of Old Marston Parish Council, said later start times were a ‘step in the right direction’.

But he refreshed concerns about the school’s controversial location, which residents fear will fuel traffic chaos.

He said: “There is a desperate need for more school places; that we agree on.

“But we [the council] don’t feel this is the best way. This is one of the worst places to put a new secondary school.”

Mr Hatfield accused school leaders of being ‘out of touch with reality’ and said councillors felt they had been ‘kept in the dark’.

He opposed the school’s non-uniform plan, adding: “It [uniform] makes it easier to have order and a sense of belonging’.

Marston mother-of-two Amanda Kerr did not share such concerns, however.

The 42-year-old said her daughter, who is in Year 7, ‘fell very foul of the allocation system’ at Cherwell.

Dr Kerr said: “I’m all for getting The Swan School open as soon as possible.

“Things like access and timings are all logistical issues - my primary concern is getting access to local school places. Marston is the biggest-hit area with allocation.

“With uniform, as long as the school has a clear policy of what isn’t acceptable, and is not gender-discriminatory, it’s neither here nor there.”

The researcher’s daughter was given a place in September at St Gregory The Great School in East Oxford, despite it not being listed as a preference, before eventually moving to Cheney School five weeks into the term.

Dr Kerr said the experience had been ‘horrendous’ and she hoped her son would not have to endure the same when it was his turn.

Parents and residents have been encouraged to share their views about the school’s plan by attending the remaining two consultation events, or filling in a questionnaire on the school’s website.

Consultation events will be held at New Marston Primary School at 6-8pm on November 1 and November 7.

Additional consultation events led by the school’s developer, Galliford Try, will run in November and should include more details about traffic plan and design.