Plans to expand secondary school in Denton

A Tameside secondary school has applied to build a new extension for a classroom and a dining hall to stop pupils having to queue up outside.

St Thomas More RC College in Denton has submitted an application to the council for works to take place at the school.

These would see the dining hall at the Town Lane building made bigger.

According to the application form, the hall is currently ‘not sufficiently sized’.

“At present existing students have to queue up under an external canopy year round for long periods of time to gain access to the dining hall,” it states.

There would also be a classroom extension to accommodate additional pupil numbers, a plan that has already been agreed with Tameside council.

St Thomas More RC College in Denton. Photo: Google Maps.

Plans to expand the school as part of the council’s educational capital programme are currently rated ‘green’.

The intention is to provide additional school places from September 2021.

The school currently has a capacity of up to 750 pupils, according to Ofsted.

A report to the strategic planning and capital monitoring panel in March states that ‘improvement works to sports and dining facilities in support of the additional places are currently under discussion with the school and Shrewsbury Diocese’.

There is a budget of £100,000 allocated to Thomas More for ‘basic need’ funding schemes, and a further £134,000 from the Healthy Pupils’ capital fund.

The mixed-sex school serves children aged 11-16 and is currently rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

Main image:

The plans for St Thomas More College in Denton. Photo: Lancaster Maloney/St Thomas More RC College. 

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