Site of infamous 'anarchy' school up for sale

The site was home to a school where teachers said they faced daily abuse by pupils

A former school site made infamous after a teacher there leaked an "anarchy diary", detailing how staff and pupils were abused by a gang of children, has been put up for sale.

Oldham Council has advertised the land on Butterworth Lane in Chadderton to private developers.

The now vacant plot was home to South Chadderton School, which gained notoriety in 2007 after a teacher revealed staff were attacked by a group of unruly pupils for several years.

About 175 homes could be built on the site, which was valued at about £4m, a council spokesman said.

Hallway attacks

The land, which borders Rochdale Canal, Hollinwood Avenue and Whitegate End Primary School, has been vacant for seven years.

It was the site of industrial action decades ago when teachers at South Chadderton School after the teacher thought to be behind the leaked diary was suspended.

This came after it was published by a teaching union, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Incidents documented in the journal included a pupil pouring urine over another child, overt sexual threats made to female students and teachers being physically attacked in hallways multiple times over a three-year period.

The school later merged with another local secondary, Kaskenmoor, and became Oasis Academy Oldham, now located in Hollinwood.

Another school, Collective Spirit School moved into the site in 2013 but closed down only three years later after being placed into special measures by Ofsted.

Problems uncovered by the watchdog included inadequate safety measures and meals that were of such poor quality children were throwing them away and going hungry.

Oldham councillor Elaine Taylor said the site was suitable for new homes, adding it made "perfect sense" as the borough was in a "housing crisis".

The council intends to decide on a developer by the end of September and complete the sale in October.