A state-of-the-art school is to be built at Bradley.
Plans have been submitted to Kirklees Council for All Saints Catholic College to be completely rebuilt on the existing site off Bradley Road.
The multi-million pound project, to be opened next year, will see a new school comprising a main teaching block which will be three storeys high. A separate building will house a new four-court sports hall and changing rooms.
Skylights will be created to provide light to the main hall, library dining area and walkways.
And to minimise disruption to students, staff and parents the old school building will not be demolished until the new building is completed.
Funding has been made available by the Government’s Education Funding Authority.
The Authority has selected internationally renowned engineering giant Laing O’Rourke – part of a consortium responsible for building the London 2012 Olympic Park – as the winning Private Funding Initiative (PFI) contractor.
Laing O’Rourke is now working in collaboration with design consultancy Atkins, which has developed a model for delivering primary and secondary schools using prefabricated components.
The school’s current accommodation is spread over a number of disparate buildings but the new facilities, providing education for 900 students, will be contained in two buildings.
Head teacher Anita Bodurka said: “The most exciting development for us here at All Saints is the plan to build a new school which is due to open in the autumn term of 2016.
“We have been using new technology in the existing building to test out resources we may wish to install to give staff and students the very best teaching and learning environment.
“The school will be built for education in the 21st century. The fantastic thing is that the new build will be developed whilst the rest of the school continues to function in our current buildings.”
She added: “There will be no portable buildings. We will move into the new build when it is ready, before the old school is demolished.”
The proposed design has been developed jointly with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) and the school to meet their vision and has also been subject to ongoing discussion with the Kirklees Council planning officers to ensure good building design.
All Saints is one of three schools in Kirklees to be built under the Priority Building School Programme.
The others are Mount Pleasant Junior Infant and Nursery School in Lockwood and Whitcliffe Mount Business and Enterprise College in Cleckheaton, which have been approved for major funding.
Public consultation on the proposals closes on February 1.
