Images of a long-awaited new high school in Radcliffe have been released with the first 150 students expected to attend in just over a year.

The new school would be a five-form entry for pupils aged 11-16, providing 750 new school places.

The school is set to be built off Spring Lane, at the site of the town’s current leisure centre.

And children from Bolton living on the border are expected to attend.

The swimming pool and other leisure facilities currently on the site are planned to be relocated to the new civic hub development in Radcliffe town centre.

Radcliffe, which has a population of more than 30,000, has been without a high school since 2014, meaning hundreds of youngsters face a daily commute to high schools in other areas of Bury. The Spring Lane School pupil referral unit, which also uses the site, will be relocated, with plans announced for it to be housed at Spurr House on Pole Lane, Unsworth.

Star Academies will run the new high school in partnership with the Department for Education. They have launched a consultation on the plans which includes computer generated images of how the new school will look.

The school would initially open using temporary teaching facilities on the site to welcome the first cohort of 150 students in September 2024. Separate planning applications will be submitted for the temporary facilities and the new permanent school.

The temporary facilities would be used while the permanent school is built.

Once completed, the sports facilities on the site would be made available for community use outside of school hours. Star Academies operate both primary and secondary schools throughout the UK, including some in Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

The were selected by the Department for Education to operate the proposed new school.

 

How the school could look under the plans

How the school could look under the plans

 

The consultation document, said: “The new school would be accessed from a new access road created from Spring Lane. A designated pupil-drop off area is included in the proposals adjacent to the main school complex.

“It is intended that a planning application for the permanent school proposals will be submitted in September 2023.

"Subject to planning permission, construction work would commence in spring 2024, with completion planned for summer 2025.”

 

How the school could look under the plans

How the school could look under the plans

 

Earlier this year, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford said the lack of a high school in Radcliffe was having "a significant societal effect on the town" and urged the government to press ahead with building the school.

He said: “Education is fundamental to Radcliffe’s growth, its community and to its future regeneration.

“With many children having attended local primary schools and then having to transition to several high schools outside of the town itself – this transnational period for children can have a detrimental impact on educational attainment.

“Radcliffe is one of the more deprived towns within the borough and to compound this further it also has some of the lowest attainment for GCSEs and progression into higher education.”