Portsmouth school to be rebuilt thanks to £22m boost

A PORTSMOUTH secondary school is to be rebuilt and another expanded in a £27m boost for city education.
Mayfield School, PortsmouthMayfield School, Portsmouth
Mayfield School, Portsmouth

Portsmouth City Council has been successful in obtaining £22m from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for the redevelopment of Mayfield School in North End whilst putting forward over £5m for an expansion at The Portsmouth Academy.

Headteacher at Mayfield School David Jeapes said: ‘I’m thrilled that we have the funding in place for a new school.

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‘The council, Mayfield staff and governors have all worked very hard over recent years to create an ‘all through school’ which benefits children and our community.’

The proposal is for a modern, purpose-built ‘all through’ school to be developed on the east field of the Mayfield site.

Mr Jeapes added: ‘They deserve a purpose-built, state of the art, educational environment and look forward to seeing the detailed plans for the new school.’

The redevelopment is subject to planning approval but it is anticipated that work will commence in summer 2018 and be completed by September 2020.

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The old school building will be demolished once the new building is completed.

Alison Jeffery, Director of Children, Families and Education at Portsmouth City Council said: ‘This funding paves the way for a new, state-of-the-art school facility on the current site which will provide new teaching and recreational facilities for the school and will benefit the pupils, staff and the local community.’

As part of a council initiative to increase the number of school places, The Portsmouth Academy will have a new three-storey building, music facilities, a drama studio and additional science laboratories.

Principal Natalie Sheppard said: ‘We are proud not just to be a school of choice for local parents – but a school that is now so popular that we are having to expand to take more students.

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‘These additional funds will allow us to accommodate the rising number of applications and continue providing an outstanding education to young people in Portsmouth.’

The plans will mean an extra 50 pupils can attend the school from September 2020.

Councillor Hannah Hockaday, Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet member for education, said: ‘Education is one of the council’s main priorities and dedicating a significant sum to improve Portsmouth’s schools shows our continued commitment to making sure Portsmouth’s children get a good education.’