Plans unveiled to allow 210 pupils to attend popular school in Northampton...while they wait for new school to open

Plans have been unveiled to allow 210 students to temporarily attend a popular school in Northampton while they wait for their own school to be be built.

Year 7 students who have been successful in their applications to attend the under-construction Northampton School in Thorpeville, Moulton will have to temporarily attend Northampton School For Boys in Billing Road for one year.

Northampton School, for both boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 16, is being funded by the Government and run by Northampton School for Boys (NSB) Academy Trust, with no interference from the local authority, thus making it a 'free school’.

The site was initially planned to open in September 2023 however that opening date has now been pushed back to Summer 2024.

Works at the site started in March this year and are ‘progressing well’, according to building contractors Algeco.

To mitigate the delays, students will still be starting in September 2023 but will attend temporary accommodation at Northampton School For Boys in Billing Road.

Plans to build three temporary school buildings for 210 pupils on a cricket pitch at Northampton School For Boys have been submitted this week (April 25) to West Northants Council.

Planning papers say: “The proposed development seeks the siting of three new temporary school buildings and associated works. It is proposed that the temporary units will be sited for a period of one year from September 2023 to accommodate the first intake of Year 7 of school pupils of the new Northampton School.

"The siting of the temporary buildings will allow construction to continue on the site at Thorpeville to ensure that the school is delivered ready for the September 2024 intake. Upon opening, the temporary units at this site will be removed and the cricket pitch will be re-instated as existing.

“The need for new/replacement schools and school facilities is vital and this is supported by policies at national and local level.”

A Northampton School for Boys (NSB) Academy Trust spokesman previously said: "The new school will help meet the significant additional need in the area for secondary school places due to growth in the town's primary school population and to the extensive new housing being built in and around Northampton."

Algeco have provided an update for this month (April). The newsletter pinned to large hoardings around the site say that ‘school foundations are progressing well’.

According to Algeco, the published contract value for the site is £27.6million. An Algeco spokesman they have a ‘long track record of delivering large publicly funded projects like this’.

Plans to build the school were approved by WNC in February 2022 despite 104 letters of objections to the plans and only 11 letters of support.

Several sites were considered by the DfE but the 24-acre plot in Thorpeville, provided by West Northants Council (WNC), was deemed the most suitable.

WNC cabinet member for finance Malcolm Longley previously said: “We believe that providing this land is an excellent opportunity to secure a new school in an area where one is needed.”

The scheme will see the school leased to the provider on a 125-year agreement with a peppercorn rent.