By John Baron
Sixth form students at Pudsey Grammar School are set to benefit from a new state-of-the-art £4 million building.
The school off Richardshaw Lane, successfully bid for a Department for Education Government-backed £4 million investment in new facilities.
Headteacher Mark McKelvie welcomed the investment. He said: “Leeds has a shortfall of places for 16 – 18 year old students which will reach a peak in the next four years, so we are pleased that our bid has been chosen to expand secure high-quality education for Sixth Form students in our area for many years to come.
“Our school has been proud to educate the children of Pudsey and the surrounding area for the past 118 years. We are the second most heavily oversubscribed school in Leeds and are also the only school in the west of Leeds which has a large and growing Sixth Form.”
Detailed designs were submitted as part of the bid process last year and a full planning application will be submitted to Leeds City Council in due course.
“We are now working at a fast pace with our architects and project managers to achieve the goal of opening the building for September 2024,” added Mr McKelvie.
This is the second significant accolade our school has received from the Government in as many years after it was awarded National Behaviour Hub status by the Department for Education in recognition of the ‘exceptional behaviour culture’ at the school in 2022.
Mr McKelvie added: “We work with schools across the north of England as consultants to develop and improve their behaviour cultures. The scheme is popular and heavily oversubscribed.”
