Site chosen for £9m rebuild of Orchard School

A replacement for a school’s buildings branded the worst in Nottinghamshire is to be constructed on land at London Road, Balderton.

The £9m rebuild of the Orchard School will create a state-of-the-art school with features including a hydro-therapy pool.

The London Road site will allow it to expand in the future.

Funding was agreed in March, with Nottinghamshire County Council contributing £5m and the rest coming from the Government’s special schools basic need budget and the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

The school caters for children and young people, aged from four to 19, with special needs.

It will operate as normal throughout the building work with contractors seeking to keep disruption to a minimum.

The Orchard School is currently on two sites — Appletongate, Newark, and London Road, Balderton — both of which are in decay.

The council is working with other stakeholders, including the Education and Skills Funding Agency, to make the best use of the land.

It is unclear at this stage where the building will be on the site.

The council owns the former Grove Leisure Centre which is being demolished; the Orchard’s London Road site; and a day care centre — all on the same site.

Staff and governors will be involved at each stage of the new school’s design and build. It is hoped building work will start early next year.

A planning application will have to be submitted.

The Orchard School has around 100 youngsters on its roll, which could rise significantly when the new building is completed.

Council leader Mrs Kay Cutts said she was committed to building work starting as soon as possible.

She said: “The news that the school will be built on the London Road site will be welcomed by pupils, staff and parents alike after months of speculation.

“We have carried out a number of feasibility studies at various sites in the town and eventually decided on the London Road site, not least because there is ample land to expand on in the future and that the land is in our ownership.

“We want to build a school that everyone associated with the Orchard community can be rightly proud of.”

Orchard School headteacher Mrs Margot Tyers said: “Our pupils will soon have a building to be proud of and one in which we can provide the very best educational provision. Our current building has long been out-dated and does not reflect the ethos of our school.

“In securing state-of-the-art facilities, we will be able to offer the best opportunities for our learners and plans to build our school with the capacity to grow will ensure that we can meet the needs of the diverse range of young people in our area.”

There was a long-running campaign, backed by the Advertiser, to replace the school buildings.

The leader of the previous Labour administration at County Hall, Mr Alan Rhodes, made the £5m commitment, which has been honoured by the new Conservative administration.

Newark MP Mr Robert Jenrick lobbied for Govern-ment funding and for the special schools funding pot to be set up.