Knole Academy gets go-ahead for £17.5m rebuild

Knole Academy is using 60-year-old buildings at the former Wildernesse site

A £17.5m scheme to rebuild a Kent academy formed from two previous schools has been given the green light.

Knole Academy in Sevenoaks, which opened in September, is currently operating from buildings formerly used by Bradbourne and Wildernesse schools.

The new building promised by the previous government was put on hold by the coalition government in July.

Michael Fallon, Tory MP for Sevenoaks, said Knole was a special case because the two sites were so far apart.

"It is quite unusual for a new academy to be operating on a split site more than half a mile apart," he said.

"Secondly, the buildings at Wildernesse are 60 years old and really no longer fit for purpose."

Kent County Council's schools rebuilding programme was among the worst hit by the scrapping of Building Schools for the Future programme.

Some 40 projects were scrapped, but several academies have since been given the go-ahead.

A timetable for the Knole development will be drawn up after consultation with the Department of Education.

"It has worked out well in the end - it is a perfect Christmas present," said Mr Fallon.