By Charlotte Green, Local Democracy Reporter
THE headteacher of a new school in Oldham said the utmost care has been taken to set up temporary classrooms so pupils get ‘a brilliant start to their school lives’.
The Cranmer Education Trust has been given the green light by Oldham Council to construct a modular three storey classroom block at the Blue Coat School site on Egerton Street.
It is designed to accommodate the first intake of Year 7s to the new Brian Clarke CE Academy, which is currently being constructed on land off Booth Street.
The building will contain six classrooms and three specialist rooms, including science laboratories and IT infrastructure.
The school will be an inclusive, co-educational, Church of England secondary school, founded to serve students of all faiths and denominations and those of none.
Allison Ash, who will be the headteacher, said: “We are so pleased that planning permission for our new temporary school building school has been granted, hot on the heels of the planning permission for our permanent home.
“As the former deputy head at The Blue Coat School, it will be a real ‘home away from home’ for me when we open here in September 2022.
“We have taken the utmost care in the planning of the temporary site to ensure that Brian Clarke CE Academy students get a brilliant start to their school lives.”
The new school, which is named after the Oldham-born artist and architect Brian Clarke, is due to open in March 2023 and will hold 1,200 students.
However, the temporary building at Blue Coat is required so 240 Year 7 pupils can be taught from September 2022, ahead of the Booth Street site being finished.
The trust says the temporary solution is required due to delays in approving the new school caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The proposals see grassland on the school grounds converted into a car park, which would provide the hard-standing as the basis for installing the temporary ‘cabins’.
Despite sharing the same site, Blue Coat and the temporary Brian Clarke facilities will operate independently, with their own staff and staggered dining times at the Blue Coat restaurant.
According to the planning approval, the temporary buildings are permitted for a ‘limited period’ of 22 months. They must be removed two months after the expiry date, and the land developed into a permanent car park.
- To find more and apply for admission to Year 7 in September 2022, go online: www.brian-clarke.org. The deadline is December 10, 2021.