Plans have been submitted for the expansion of a Liverpool girls’ secondary school to meet increasing pupil demand.
An application has been received by Liverpool Council for the construction of a new six-classroom block on the grounds of Archbishop Blanch High School, which caters for 11 to 16-year-olds. Local authority documents show that proposals have been put forward by Fletcher-Rae Architects for the building of a two-storey building on the site for additional learning facilities at the Earle Road school.
The new classrooms will allow the Church of England School school to increase the pupil annual intake in line with the requirements of the local education authority. It is an addition to the school which was first moved into by pupils in 2015.
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The existing school capacity is being challenged by the council, according to the submitted plans, with the school now given the remit to accept an increased intake each year over the next few years. It added: “The required targets cannot be achieved without the proposed additional classrooms being constructed and made available for use for the September 2023 intake.
According to the design and access statement, the selected location allows good connectivity with the existing school operations and pupil movement routes, and is not compromised by servicing access to the refectory area, or separated from the existing classrooms by the sports hall. The new build, described as a hub, has been separated from the main school building to ensure minimal disruption.
It has been limited to two storeys to “minimise the impact of the pod mass on the natural light levels within the existing classrooms along the eastern side of the school.” The document added: “It is therefore believed that there will be no greater requirement for the use of arƟfi cial lighting in the existing classrooms immediately adjacent to the new pod than is used currently.”
The new classrooms will be arranged in a linear form in the new structure over the two floors. Materials have been selected carefully for the construction “to offer some individuality whilst not detracting from the original building.”
A date for the plans to be considered by Liverpool Council’s planning committee has yet to be confirmed.
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