Schools' expansion will help meet demand - council

The city council said there was rising demand for school places across Wolverhampton

A multi-million pound scheme to expand schools in Wolverhampton will help to meet the rising demand for places, according to a council report.

City of Wolverhampton Council has approved plans to spend £3.2m to provide more places at three secondary schools from 2025/26.

The money will be used to build additional classrooms at Ormiston SWB Academy and Moseley Park, which would see capacity per year group rise to 230 and 200 respectively.

Capacity at Colton Hills Community School would also increase from 161 to 180 per year group but without building any new classrooms.

This means a total of 315 additional places would be created across the three schools between 2025 and 2030, according to a report to the authority’s cabinet.

Of the £3.2m, about £1.75m would be spent on Ormiston SWB Academy while £1.45m would go towards the expansion of Moseley Park.

The report said the planned expansion would “secure school places to help meet demand” in the city.

“This would allow more families the opportunity to attend a preferred school and to ensure the council’s statutory duty (to ensure the sufficiency of provision) can continue to be fulfilled,” the report added.

Ormiston SWB Academy's capacity per year group would rise to 230

During the meeting on 10 July, councillors also approved plans to create 63 more places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As part of the scheme, £2.65m of funding has been approved for Westcroft School, Palmers Cross Primary School and Ormiston NEW Academy.

A council report said Green Park School would also need investment to help increase its capacity from 147 to 174 and that a feasibility study was currently being undertaken.