Radcliffe: Open days organised for town's new high school

Parents and carers can now choose to send their child to the new, long-awaited school which will open for its first intake into Year 7 in September 2024.

The new high school, Star Radcliffe Academy, is being built on Spring Lane and will provide 750 places for pupils from Years 7 to 11.

Star Academies, which will run the new school along with the Department for Education (DfE), has announced it will hold two open events for prospective pupils and families to learn more about Star Radcliffe Academy, its offer, and the admission’s process.

They will take place at the Outreach Centre in Blackburn Street, Radcliffe, on Tuesday, October 3 from 6pm to 7.30pm and Monday, October 16 from 4pm to 5.30pm.

The long-awaited new school will offer 750 places

Applications must be made directly to Star, not the council and anyone interested should go to the school’s website for all the details.

The local authority has advised those applying for a place at Star Radcliffe Academy that they should still also apply for other schools in the borough on your application to the council. The closing date for applications is October 31.

Plans for the long-awaited new school was were approved by the DfE in 2021 after Star submitted a bid for funding in 2019.

Star runs a group of 27 primary and secondary schools in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, the Midlands and London.

The construction of the new school forms part of wider regeneration efforts in the town which currently had no high school of its own.

Earlier this year, the council revealed that the DfE had experienced ‘significant challenges’ in delivering its school building programme, meaning the new Radcliffe school would not be complete ahead of September 2024.

The council said it expected the school will open with temporary accommodation while the new buildings are fully constructed.

The site on which the new school will be constructed

In August, it released new photos showing designs for what the new school could look like once it is completed.

Radcliffe, which has a population of more than 30,000, has been without a high school since 2014, meaning hundreds of youngsters face a daily commute to high schools in other areas of Bury.

The Spring Lane School pupil referral unit, which also uses the site, will be relocated, with plans announced for it to be housed at Spurr House on Pole Lane, Unsworth.

Once completed, sports facilities on the site will be made available for community use outside of school hours.