Penwortham Girls High School replacement building plans are lodged

CG image of the proposed Penwortham Girls High School

A planning application has been submitted for a replacement Penwortham Girls High School.

Following a consultation which included a public event last month, the Department for Education (DfE) has formally submitted its proposals to South Ribble Borough Council. If approved, the existing school will be demolished and a replacement built on the same grounds.

The existing building is said to be beyond its planned lifespan but is to remain in use until the replacement is built, with the work funded by the Government’s £1billion School Rebuilding Programme.

Documents submitted with the application explain the new build will not increase the capacity of 800 pupils, though will raise the number of places for pupils with plans for Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs from 16 to 23. The site will include parking provision for 85 vehicles plus four additional accessible bays, 30 cycle parking/storage spaces and 12 bays for taxi drop-off.

The application states: “The school vision is to deliver an environment which is not only welcoming and caring but provides a calm and disciplined ethos to encourage a purposeful education.

“At Penwortham Girls’ High School they seek to nurture the students academically, promoting learning for its own sake and provide varied opportunity for personal growth and development.

“The environment must reflect the attitude, ambition and current high standards of the school, a nurturing, supportive and challenging environment where girls excel.

“Areas of the school & grounds have been designed to be used/operated outside of typical school hours and potentially at weekends at the school’s discretion.”

An aerial view of the new Penwortham Girls High School site proposed

The new school’s layout will see the ground floor will comprise of a sports hall, activity studio, gym, changing rooms, assembly hall, dining hall, classrooms, reception, meeting rooms, staff rooms and toilets. The first floor will have a sports hall, activity studio, assembly hall, classrooms, library and toilets, while the second floor will be filled with classrooms, meeting rooms, offices and toilets.

Once the old school is demolished, its footprint will be repurposed to provide new sports facilities. The report states: “The proposed new school building will provide modern teaching facilities to contribute towards the overall improvement in the school’s operational performance which will ultimately benefit the quality of education for existing and future school pupils.

“Existing and future school pupils will have access to high-quality outdoor sports facilities, and the implementation of hard and soft landscaping which will contribute towards their physical and mental health and wellbeing.”

The application will be determined by South Ribble Borough Council.

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