Academy body bids to replace city’s last single sex state school

Earlier this month Leeds East Academy opened in Leeds, but next week members of Leeds City Council will be asked to back proposals that will see the former Parklands Girls High School knocked down and redeveloped to provide a home for the academy from 2013.

The Leeds East Academy, which replaces the former Parklands Girls High School in Seacroft, is the second in the city to be opened by education sponsor E-ACT, following the £30m Leeds West Academy in Rodley.

The newly-opened academy is currently operating in the former Parklands Girls School in Seacroft.

If planning permission is granted, those behind the academy hope that the new building – which will include arts, drama and music studios, sports facilities and community provision – can open in 2013.

Principal Helen Lane said: “We are just waiting for final planning approval but we are very excited about the future.

“The new building will provide high quality, stimulating learning spaces supporting our vision to raise student achievement and improve opportunities.”

A report to members of the council’s plans panel east is recommending that the proposal is given the go-ahead, subject to conditions being agreed, despite the temporary loss of some playing fields.

It says: “The proposal is to redevelop an existing girls only secondary school and establish a co-education academy on the same site. This will see the demolition of the current school buildings and the new school buildings built on an area of the site that previously contained pitches, including hockey.”

The academy will include a new sports hall and Sport England has said it will not object to the loss of playing fields if the facilities have some form of community use and steps are taken to ensure “appropriate temporary replacement facilities are provided”.

The report adds: “The proposed academy will be sponsored by E-ACT who already sponsor Leeds West Academy and nine other academies across the country. The proposal aims to deliver a new educational philosophy built within a large building envelope within which are a series of learning pods.”

That would provide a “mixed academy, providing a total of 1100 places including 200 post 16 places. In terms of timescales it is proposed that the academy will open in the existing Parklands buildings from September 2011 with the new build available from February 2013.”

Over the last seven years, a number of schools in Leeds have been rebuilt or refurbished as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project. Last year, the Government requested a 40 per cent cut on the BSF projects that had not reached completion. Costs were reviewed and the project was again given the go-ahead.

Officers will be told that the timetable for building the new school is tight, with a planned completion date of February 2013.

When they meet on Thursday, members of the planning committee are being recommended to give the proposal the go ahead.

The report recommends: “The proposed development is considered to be acceptable in planning terms and lies within an area of sufficient size to accommodate such a use without having a detrimental impact upon both the visual and residential amenity of the area as well as its general character.

“Overall, it is considered that the proposed scheme is of an acceptable quality in design terms and delivers essential new teaching accommodation. Furthermore, it is considered that the proposal will have no detrimental impact on the surrounding residential amenity.”