£6.9m investment to boost school capacity

COUNCIL AGREES TO SPEND MILLIONS ON NEW-BUILD AND IMPROVEMENTS

A Wearside primary school is set to be rebuilt and expanded and two more schools are to get extensions.

This week, Sunderland City Council’s cabinet agreed to invest millions of pounds to increase capacity at three city schools.

Under the plans, Willow Fields Primary School in North Sunderland could be relocated and rebuilt on the former Maplewood School site, off Redcar Road, Redhill.

The school is currently in need of major repair works and has limited capacity with an admission number of only 20 children in each year group.

New plans aim to increase the overall capacity from 210 to 315 places with a new build planned for completion in 2021.

Benedict Biscop Primary Academy and St Paul’s CE VC Primary School are also in line for improvements – with extension works set to create an extra 210 places.

Council costs for the three proposals, which were included in the council’s capital spending budget earlier this year, are £6.9million.

The works aim to meet growing demand for school places, particularly in the city’s South Sunderland Growth Area where there are several housing developments under way and more due.

Cabinet member for children, learning and skills, Coun Louise Farthing, outlined the plans to cabinet.

“The Maplewood site offers superior outdoor facilities and will accommodate a school building with greater capacity,” she said,

“This will be required in order to meet the needs of new housing developments both in progress and planned in North Sunderland.

“Works are also needed to increase the sufficiency of school places in the South Sunderland Growth Area which will contribute to the overall education infrastructure required to support all the new homes currently being developed in the area.

“All these works are about contributing to this council’s strategy of ensuring there are sufficient, suitable, high quality school places for pupils in safe and health buildings.”

A consultation process will take place around the plans for Willow Fields and St Paul’s.