Orchard Special School rebuild on agenda for education secretary

Newark MP Robert Jenrick has met education secretary Nicky Morgan in an effort to push forward plans to rebuild the Newark Orchard School.

Mr Jenrick favours relocating the special school from its two sites at Appletongate, Newark, and London Road, Balderton, to the former Lilley and Stone School site at Newark.

After the meeting, Mr Jenrick told the Advertiser that Nicky Morgan had agreed for experts from the Department of Education to work with Nottinghamshire County Council over its costings for a rebuild, which it estimates could be £11m.

Mr Jenrick believes a new school on the Lilley and Stone site could be delivered much more cheaply at £3.5m.

Nicky Morgan has also given an undertaking to provide data on similar projects elsewhere in the country and the level of central government and local authority funding that delivered them.

She pledged £1m through the Education Funding Agency that can either be spent on the Orchard's existing school buildings or put towards the cost of a rebuild.