Campaigners delight at new South Gloucestershire school

The school site will teach both primary and secondary pupils

A bid to build a £26m school in South Gloucestershire has secured funding from the Department of Education.

The school in Lyde Green is expected to open in 2022 and will teach pupils from reception up to 16.

The decision comes after a long running campaign calling for more secondary places in the area.

Planning permission is yet to be confirmed for the school, which would have 900 secondary pupils as well as a primary school and sports facilities.

The school will be built under the government's free school programme and will be run by the academy trust that manages South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

Its chief executive, Kevin Hamblin, said: "We are confident that SGS Parkfield School will make a significant contribution to the Lyde Green community."

The school's name is a reference to the nearby site of the former Parkfield Colliery.

Plans for the school show provisions for community access to the sports facilities

It plans to help students build skills to aid them in the employment market, with a focus on engineering and digital technology.

"I am especially excited about the focus of the curriculum offer and supporting young people to develop essential skills," said Conservative council leader Toby Savage.

Campaigners, including Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore, successfully lobbied for a local primary school in 2014 and had argued the growing area needed more secondary school places as well.

The Conservative MP said: "I am delighted that this vital bid has been approved... and look forward to the doors opening up to a new generation of local pupils."