Haygrove School to be rebuilt at new site after being found 'unsafe'

A school in Somerset that was deemed unsafe at the start of the academic year will be entirely rebuilt at a new site.

Haygrove School in Bridgwater was told it could no longer use its main building in September after the Government discovered it had "issues with structural integrity."

Caledonian Modular, which constructed the building, went out of business in 2022, prompting the Department for Education to check the safety of Haygrove and several other schools.

Following the investigation, the building was wrapped in scaffolding. Some students have since been taught off-site at a nearby college and others in temporary classrooms.

Quantock Education Trust, the academy chain that runs the school, told parents on Friday 1 December that funding from the Department for Education has been granted to rebuild it.

Further details are yet to be confirmed, but the school has said that the existing main block will not be used again.

In a letter sent to parents, they said: "We are writing to you with an important and, hopefully, exciting update about the future of Haygrove School.

"We are delighted to share with you all that the Department for Education (DfE) has now confirmed that funding will be made available to rebuild the entire Haygrove School. 

"Whilst this is excellent news for our school community, we do not yet have any further details available beyond that.

"We are currently engaging with the DfE on details such as timescales and the location of the new buildings and will update on this as soon as we have any further confirmed information. 

"What is clear at this point is that the existing main building will not be used again in the future and that the whole school, rather than just that block, is going to receive significant investment from the DfE, for which we are very grateful.

"We will continue to work closely with the DfE and advocate, as always, to have the needs of our students, staff and local community at the heart of every decision.

"Whilst there is still much more detail yet to be decided, we are pleased to be able to share this positive next step for our school and our community with you all.

"We are grateful for the support we have had from the DfE and the local authority throughout this unprecedented situation.

"We can’t thank you all enough for the ongoing support, resilience and commitment you have shown throughout this process.

"As we stated in August, we are very much looking forward to having an excellent school building which our community is proud of, and we are so pleased to be able to finally share the first step to achieving this with you all."