Plans have been submitted by a high school for a new three-storey block of classrooms to replace temporary units at the site and address rising pupil numbers.

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More RC High School, in Gibfield Road, Colne, has entered plans to Pendle Borough Council for the expansion work at the school.

If approved, it would see four temporary classroom units currently at the school removed and replaced with a three-storey building made up of six classroom blocks, and dining, teaching and science rooms for the school.

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In planning documents, the application said the plans are to deal with “overcrowding” and a shortage of school places in the borough, with Government funding contributing to the work.

It states: “Due to recent housing developments within the borough, population growth and more schools becoming feeder schools, the school is oversubscribed and at full capacity, with a known additional 120 children expected in the 2023 Autumn term.”

At the end of the last school year the pupil population stood at 780, which is rising to 800 next month and 900 in September 2023, clearly demonstrating a need for more classrooms and school space.

The current temporary classrooms, which under the plans would be removed, are described by the school as “unfit for purpose and beyond economical repair”.

They would be replaced by two new extensions, one at the north of the site containing six classrooms across three floors, with the south extension containing an extension to the school dining room, more classrooms, two science labs and a toilet.

It would be the latest expansion of the school since its foundation in the 1960s, which has grown as the community in Colne has also expanded.

The plans would see six more teachers and support staff employed at the school, along with two administrative roles and two part-time catering staff.

To make the school more environmentally friendly the south extension would be fitted with solar panels on the roof.

The plans conclude: “For the school not to undertake the proposed work would mean that they would not be able to provide education / teaching facilities to cater for the additional pupils that they know they are expected to accommodate.”

Public consultation ends on September 6, with a decision expected at some point next month.