A special school on the cliff and a city academy are among four Norfolk schools to be earmarked for multi-million pound refurbishments by the Government. The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the latest installment of schools to be rebuilt as part of its £1bn school rebuild programme. It has confirmed 61 more schools for the scheme, which will see the number of Norfolk sites earmarked triple from two to six. The four new schools are:
The Hewett Academy, Norwich Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, Swaffham Sidestrand Hall School, Cromer Weasenham Church of England Primary Academy, near King’s Lynn.
The quartet follows the announcement last July that Firside Junior School in Hellesdon and Smithdon High School in Hunstanton were successful in their bids for the government cash. Antony Little, Headmaster of Hewett Academy, said: “This is a hugely exciting time for Hewett Academy, both for our current students and those who will join us in the future. “It is well known that our school has needed capital investment from the government for a long time and we are delighted to be listed.” Helen Bates, assistant director of school service in the Catholic Diocese of East Anglia. Image: Keith Morris – Credit: Archant Helen Bates, assistant head of Diocesan Schools, who took over at Sacred Heart in 2019, said: “We have appointed a new head and assistant head and made a significant capital investment of over £1 million in the school and its buildings. “But we also recognized that the condition of Sacred Heart’s buildings was among the worst in the East Anglia Diocese family of schools and we submitted a bid to the DfE. “We are delighted that the DfE has also recognized this level of need and look forward to working with them to identify the scope of building work to be undertaken over the coming years at Sacred Heart.” Howard Nelson, Chief Executive of Norwich Diocese Education Services, which runs Weasenham Primary, said: “This is fantastic news for our pupils, staff and the local community. “To have a modern, fit-for-purpose building that will support their learning in the 21st century is fantastic.” Norfolk County Councilor Daniel Elmer. Image: Norfolk County Council – Credit: Norfolk County Council Daniel Elmer, deputy cabinet member for children’s services at Norfolk County Council, said it was “excellent news” that Siddestrand special school was included. He said: “We applied to the scheme after a routine school building survey found that a number of buildings on the site, including a temporary block of flats, required significant investment to improve their condition. “We will now work closely with the DfE as they carry out further work to decide exactly what the scope of this project will be and when it will be delivered.”
