Relocation and expansion approved for Shefford school
Date Added: 17/10/2022
Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Committee approved the £14.1million expansion and relocation of Campton Academy to a new site on Hitchin Road in Shefford, subject to approval from the Department for Education’s (DfE) Regional Director for the East of England Region.
Part of the New School Places Programme, the new build is expected to be ready by September 2024 and will see the school expand from 120 pupils on its existing site on Rectory Road in Campton to 420 pupils at the new location.
This will be in advance of the planned change of age range from a lower school to a primary, which is part of the Schools for the Future programme that will take place in September 2025. To future-proof the site, the new school will be built to accommodate two forms of entry.
The land for the relocation and expansion for Campton Academy is part of the approved planning application for 150 new homes at the land west of Hitchin Road Shefford. Therefore, the expansion and relocation of Campton Academy will be also funded by the DfE Basic Need grant, Section 106 education contributions as well as the Schools for the Future programme.
The school is popular with parents and carers and was graded outstanding at its last Ofsted inspection in 2010, but it is oversubscribed for the current year and by 2025 it is forecast to have a deficit of places.
Campton Academy and the Bedfordshire Schools Trust (BEST) will now submit a business case for the expansion and relocation for consideration to the DfE’s Regional Director for the East of England Region, with capital support from the Council, which will progress through to detailed design, planning and construction.