Plans for temporary school on Blue Coat site

An academy trust has applied to set up temporary classrooms for students ahead of a brand new school being built in Oldham.

The Cranmer Education Trust has submitted an application to Oldham council to construct a modular three storey classroom block at the Blue Coat School site on Egerton Street.

The building will contain six classrooms and three specialist rooms, including science laboratories and IT infrastructure.

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.

That school, which is named after the Oldham-born artist and architect Brian Clarke, is due to open in 2023 and will hold 1,200 students.

However the temporary building at Blue Coat is required to teach 240 year 7 pupils from September 2022, ahead of the Booth Street site being finished.

While the two schools will exist on the same site for a year, they will operate as ‘separate entities’.

The proposals see grassland on the school grounds converted into a car park, which would provide the hardstanding as the basis for installing the temporary ‘cabins’.

Alison Ash, who is due to become headteacher of the Brian Clarke CE Academy said: “As a current 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 trust says that the temporary solution is required due to delays in approving the new school caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Julie Hollis, CEO of the Cranmer Education Trust, said: “The Brian Clarke CE Academy will get the best possible start at the Blue Coat School site.

“The two schools will be separate entities, each with their own staff and facilities with students sharing just the restaurant at Blue Coat, with staggered dining times.

“We know that the parents, students and staff at Blue Coat will warmly welcome their new Cranmer Education Trust neighbours.”

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