Inclusion at centre of school schemes

PLANS for a state-of-the-art academy and special school on the same site have been unveiled to the public.

Parents, residents and staff were invited to view two sets of proposals for the James Brindley Science College site in Chell yesterday.

The event was held by Stoke-on-Trent City Council before a planning application is submitted in August as part of the Government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

One option includes a new city academy and a new special school on the same site, which would take pupils with a wide range of special education needs.

Pupils who now go to nearby Middlehurst and Heathfield schools would be able to relocate to the academy site in around three years.

The other option is to refurbish and extend the existing Middlehurst School and just build the new academy.

BSF project director Tracy Penrose said there had been lots of enthusiasm for the new academy, but people had been expressing concern about where the special school was situated.

She said: "The schools would be able to share facilities, and it is about encouraging inclusion in the wider sense.

"Rebuilding Middlehurst School would also be more cost-effective than refurbishing it in its current location."

Headteacher Clive Rigby said there were more positives than negatives of the academy and special school being on the same site.

He said: "It is about creating an integrated society and understanding people better. However, if co-location is to be successful, there is a lot of work to be done. The great majority of local people just want us to get on with it."

Parent and school governor Jayne Francis said she was in favour of the academy and special school being on the same site.

But she said she thought the special school had been placed too close to the main school.

The 42-year-old of Crowndale Place, Packmoor, said: "There need to be clear boundaries between the two schools."

Councillor John Burgess, a governor of Middlehurst School, said he wanted the school to stay where it was. The 61-year-old of Crossfield Avenue, Blythe Bridge, said: "It is my view that bigger is not always better."

If planning permission is granted, it would be built between 2010 and 2013. Building work is expected to take 18 to 24 months.

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