Funds appeal for arson-hit school

Carleton Community High School in Pontefract suffered extensive fire damage in an arson attack and currently half its pupils are being taught in temporary classrooms.

The fire in October 2008 wrecked the administration block, main hall, library, gym, IT classrooms, catering facilities and drama hall.

Wakefield Council had planned to use cash from the Government's now scrapped Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme to pay for the second stage of rebuilding work and it has now written to the Government urging it still to help out.

Council leader Peter Box has written to Education Secretary, Michael Gove, to argue Carleton should be looked at as a priority under a review set up to support schools no longer receiving BSF cash.

Coun Box said: "The fire was a major setback for everyone who works and learns at the school but it has beaten all odds and still received a good rating by Ofsted last year. We want to be able to provide the right education for our pupils in the best environment and were on track to do so thanks to the Building Schools for the Future programme.

"Unfortunately this has been ended by the Government which means our pupils are learning in temporary buildings, which is just unsustainable and inappropriate in the 21st century.

"We, and the school, are confident we are ready and able to meet the challenge of being a trial project to rebuild the whole school to ensure our young people have the very best opportunities for education and I look forward to an early and positive response from Michael Gove."

In July, the Education Secretary took an axe to vast swathes of the last Government's 55bn BSF drive to rebuild or refurbish all secondary schools.

There are 82 schools across the region which have seen rebuilding or refurbishing schemes axed and a further 11 which could still be shelved which will now be decided on a case-by-case basis by Ministers.

Currently, half of the Carleton students are in temporary accommodation. The authority is replacing the buildings destroyed in the fire in the first phase of a two stage rebuilding programme.

The second phase of the project, to rebuild the remaining areas of the school, was due to be paid for through the BSF programme but this cash is no longer available.

In 2009, despite having to manage the impact of the devastating fire, the school was judged by watchdog Ofsted to be good overall with good outcomes for its students.

In his letter Coun Box warns sustaining this improvement will be extremely difficult if young people have to continue to be educated in temporary classrooms for long periods.

He said: "After a serious fire in 2008, we embarked on a two phase programme to replace and rebuild the school for children and young people of the north-east district of Wakefield.

"Despite having to manage the impact of this devastating fire, an Ofsted inspection in 2009 judged the school to be good overall with good outcomes for students.

"However, sustaining this trajectory of improvement will be made extremely difficult if young people continue to be educated in temporary accommodation for an extended period of time.

In March the school unveiled its 12m rebuilding plans.

Deputy headteacher, David Jones, speaking at the time said: "The plans show how we will get back everything we lost in the fire.

"I'm pleased because this is a school building that's going to be taking us well into this century."