Wolverhampton school reveals big plans for expansion
A school in Wolverhampton has revealed major refurbishment plans which include a new primary school and sports hall.
The Royal School has submitted a planning application for a new 630-space primary school at its site in Penn Road, Wolverhampton.
The work also includes a two-storey extension to the main grade II-listed school building, a new sports hall, 104-space car park, a bigger design technology (DT) block and refurbished dormitories.
An old plant room on the secondary school site would be demolished for new stairs as part of work to improve the building’s layout.
The secondary school would also be refurbished and reordered with its dormitories for boarders also revamped.
Temporary classrooms would also be built for pupils during the phased refurbishment of the secondary school.
The application said the existing 630-space primary school was “no longer an optimal learning experience” and needed replacing.
Two year groups are currently being taught in temporary classrooms with others housed on the school’s car park after the current classrooms were deemed “small and in poor repair.”
The all-through school provides for up to 1,480 pupils, including primary, secondary and sixth form, and has up to 100 boarding places.
A statement included with the application said: “The vision for the redevelopment is to provide a connected campus that has wellbeing at the forefront, reflected within both the building design and layout.
“The proposals will provide new high quality teaching, sports and recreation spaces that will be energy efficient, incorporate modern technology, and support the school’s curriculum and pupil boarding requirements. The development is proposed to be undertaken in phases to ensure teaching can be maintained throughout the programme.
“The new playing field area proposed within the St Luke’s site will be delivered in the first phase, as required by Sport England, prior to the building of the new primary school.”
The private Royal School scrapped its £29,000-a-year fees in 2015, becoming one of then Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘free’ state schools. The decision saw pupil numbers increase from around 530 to nearly 1,200.
St Luke’s Primary School was demolished several years ago and the site has been empty since. It had been earmarked for nearly 100 homes several years ago but the move was eventually scrapped with surrounding roads deemed unsuitable.
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