St Peter's School in Birstall could be knocked down

It was announced in July 2021 that St Peter’s School in Birstall was to be rebuilt under the Government’s School Rebuilding Programme.

Following consultation with the local community in March, plans have now been submitted to Kirklees Council.

The existing building at St Peter's School in Birstall (Image: Church of England (Diocese of Leeds))

The scheme, from the Church of England’s Diocese of Leeds, involves building a new school on playing fields to the north of the site.

The existing school will remain open during construction and will then be demolished once the new build is up and running.

The proposals also include improvements to the site access, the formation of a car park and children’s outdoor play areas.

In a design and access statement accompanying the plans it states: “During the feasibility stage of the project it was determined that the school should be rebuilt rather than refurbished due to its age and condition.

“The project will create a modern environment for the local pupils to learn and grow. The new school building will retain the current number of 210 pupils plus 26 nursery places which will be distributed in a two-storey building.”

It adds that alternative options, such as demolishing the existing school and building the new school in the location of the existing or relocating the school to the existing hard play surface, were ruled out.

An artist's impression of plans for a new building at St Peter's School in Birstall (Image: Church of England (Diocese of Leeds))

“The option to relocate the school to the north of the site proved to be the only viable option for the development,” the report adds.

The two-storey building will provide space for early years and Key Stage 1 on the ground floor with Key Stage 2 teaching spaces on the first floor.

As part of the design, windows to the eastern side of the building have been minimised due to concerns raised by the school of historic vandalism to this area, the report adds.

In addition, the two-storey solution is said to minimise the building footprint while maximising the remaining available site area for hard and soft play.

The School Rebuilding Programme involves major rebuilding and refurbishment projects at school and sixth-form college buildings across England.

There are currently 400 projects in the programme, announced in 2021 and 2022.

Buildings are prioritised according to their condition and St Peter’s was part of the second set of schools announced.