By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
More Nottingham academy trusts should “step up” to meet schooling demand, the leader of Nottingham City Council has said after a £10m expansion of Bluecoat Wollaton Academy was approved.
The project will create 60 new places every year at the school, which is on Sutton Passeys Crescent in Wollaton.
Archway Learning Trust runs the school and it is currently rated ‘outstanding’ in all areas by Ofsted.
Nottingham City Council’s senior councillors gave the expansion scheme the green light during a meeting on Tuesday, July 16, authorising the procurement of a construction contract.
In approving it Cllr Neghat Khan, the leader of the council, appealed to the other trusts to “step up” to help the city meet demand.
There are currently 19 secondary academies operating across nine separate trusts in Nottingham.
“It is great to see Bluecoat Academy agree to expand,” she said.
“I would appeal to all academies within the city, especially good and outstanding ones, to step up and help us on our journey to get more kids into a good school.”
The project aims to increase secondary school capacity by creating two new forms of entry, new science rooms, general classrooms and specialist technology spaces.
A three-court sports hall will also be built, using money from the Basic Need Fund and a contribution from Archway Learning Trust totalling £10.3m.
While the expansion takes place, Bluecoat Wollaton Academy will accommodate extra pupils from September 2024 in temporary mobile classrooms.
Cllr Ethan Radford, the deputy leader of the council, said there has been a 32 per cent increase in demand for secondary school places.
More school place pressure is expected up to 2029.
“Nottingham City Council has a statutory duty to ensure a sufficiency of school places for children residing in the city,” he said.
“There have been objections from residents relating to traffic and parking. The academy will work with us to mitigate this.”
Nick Lee, director for education, added: “This is an investment in an outstanding academy that delivers for all children in the community.”
