New £9m school on track to open in September

A tree-planting ceremony has been held to mark the progress made at the school

A new £9m primary school being built in Derbyshire is on track for a September opening, the county council says.

Clover Leys Spencer Academy, based in Boulton Moor, will provide additional places for families moving into new housing developments nearby.

There will be spaces for 210 pupils at the school, which will be run by the Spencer Academies Trust.

The site has space for the building to be expanded into a two-form entry school, should the need arise in the future, Derbyshire County Council said.

Alex Dale, member for education at the authority, said: "We've overcome some significant hurdles to get to this point and it's taken a lot longer than we'd originally envisaged so we’re extremely grateful to parents, the school and the trust for their patience while we’ve worked through the issues."

A "temporary learning village" has been set up at the nearby Chellaston Academy while Clover Leys is built to reduce pressure on other schools in the area.

Head teacher Rebecca Chapman said pupils were "eagerly awaiting" the move to the new facility in September, which she believed would "unite the Boulton Moor community".

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