Worksop: College to spend £4m on redevelopments

Planning permission has been granted for the college to build a new boarding house and an extension to the existing house called Gibbs.

The development project will include the refurbishment of the existing boarding houses with new beds and flooring in the main building and specialist sixth form teaching spaces.

The library will also be triple the size and there are plans for a new garden space to be made.

Funding for the project will be coming from a combination of loans, reinvesting student fees and through fundraising.

Headteacher Mr Horgan said: “At the moment, we are seeing a rise in pupils wanting to come to Worksop College.”

“This year there has been a 10 per cent rise in boys wanting to board and 16 per cent of our pupils are international.”

“Currently the girls boarding houses are full so the new developments will allow us to raise the proportion of boarders in the school.”

The children will also be able to use the space as a social hub to give the college more of a family feel.

Mr Horgan added: “This year we have 27 children under seven-years-old who board with us, so it’s really important we make boarding with us as close to home as possible.”

“Creating a family feel for our students is really important.”

The plan is to install a ground source heating system which will be carbon neutral.

Worksop College is a grade two listed building and the new development will share the same red brick and sandstone as the rest of the other buildings to fit in with the design.

Building work to the college will start in November and the project is expected to be finished by January 2016.

Mr Horgan said: “The site is pretty much as it was when it was farm land, so we are keen to keep the new buildings in line with the old ones.”

“The pupils have been involved in the planning process every step of the way.”

“The student council has held meeting and told us what they would like to see, which is important because they will be the ones living in the houses”

Regular consultation evenings have been held at the college for staff, parents and pupils.

There was no objections to the plans from the community.

Throughout the project, students will be regularly on site, making sure they are happy with what the builders are doing.

The college will be having on official open day when all the work is finally finished and complete.