Opening of Northstowe Secondary College delayed

Construction delays mean Northstowe Secondary College will not open as planned at the start of September.

Cambridgeshire County Council has confirmed that due to “project-related construction issues” which have been compounded by the recent weather, the school will now open at the end of the month.

The 70 Year 7 students due to start at the new school will move into the building on Monday, September 30 following the completion of the work on September 26.

The students will be accommodated in dedicated space at Pathfinder Primary School in Northstowe while the works are completed.

The council says that any further delay is unlikely and the building will be watertight by the end of this week.

A statement from the council said: “While phase 1A is slightly delayed the full completion is ahead of schedule and, at this stage, we expect the work to be finished by May half-term 2020 so students will have the benefit of the whole site before the end of their first year at the school.”

The county council is managing the school build project and received the go ahead in October 2018 to develop the Northstowe Education Campus, in partnership with South Cambridgeshire District Council and Homes England (HE), the government’s national housing agency.

The secondary school will be run by Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT) and will initially provide places for up to 600 pupils aged 11-16. It will then be extended in two subsequent phases to 1,200 and finally 1,800 pupils.

The timing of these phases will be dependent upon the pace of housing development and demand for places from families moving into the catchment area.