High school to receive £3m transformation

Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet has approved a £3.1m second phase of the rebuilding work at Aldercar High School.

A two-storey building will be constructed which will be the base for the school’s maths, English and languages departments.

It will also include a music room, a teacher training observation classroom and an enhanced resource facility for special needs teaching.

External works, including landscaping and the creation of hard play and parking areas, will also be carried out.

Work will begin later this month and should be completed by the end of the year.

Deputy cabinet member for children’s services, Councillor Caitlin Bisknell, said: “Over the past decade, the council has invested significantly in the redevelopment of this school to make sure that generations of young people from this community benefit from learning in the best facilities we can provide.

“It’s wonderful to now be able to announce the approval of funding to complete this remarkable transformation of Aldercar School.”

The first phase of the project was completed in August last year. It saw the replacement of the old timber-framed main school block with a new three-storey building housing specialist rooms for food technology, design and graphics, two art rooms, two science laboratories and three science classrooms, three fully equipped ICT suites and a media room.

A multi-purpose hall with retractable seating and lighting and sound equipment, a dining room and kitchen, offices, work preparation areas and staff and student toilets were also constructed.

A new sports hall and sixth form centre had already been built at the school in recent years.

Headteacher Jon Crone said: “Students, staff, governors and parents are delighted that the council’s cabinet has approved funding for phase two of the new building of our school.

“We are very fortunate to be enjoying our current spacious and well-equipped new building and have no doubt that we will make good use of the next phase.”

Derbyshire County Council member for Greater Heanor, Councillor Paul Jones, added: “Along with current and former pupils, I welcome the council’s commitment to continue to support this redevelopment.

“It will help the school, which is such an important part of the local community, to go from strength to strength.“

In recent years the school has benefitted from a number of improvements, £4.2m creating a new sixth form and a new £2.19m sports hall.