Upton-by-Chester High School set to benefit from School Rebuilding Programme

Upton-by-Chester High School in Chester has been named as one of the schools that will benefit from the government’s School Rebuilding Programme.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has invested in improving and maintaining the school over recent years, with further sections now coming to the end of their life. The investment and rebuild will transform parts of the school into modern and environmentally sustainable places for learners to learn.

The Department for Education will now begin a project to partially rebuild the school in areas that are most in need of improvements, setting the school up for high educational standards for all of its pupils for decades to come.

Headteacher of Upton-by-Chester High School, Lee Cummins said: “Upton-by-Chester High is a thriving, vibrant school with a proud record of academic excellence and success and I am delighted that we have now been prioritised within the government’s School Rebuilding Programme.

“We have spent much of the last few years updating areas of the school site but there remain parts of our school estate, built in the 1970’s, which are not suitable for 21^st Century learning. We are delighted that we have the opportunity to provide our learners and staff with an environment which will inspire and motivate them further. Our mission is to help all our young people to ‘learn to shape the future’ and we are certain that this next step in our development will achieve just that.” 

Land studies will be carried out at the school over the summer to scope out a work plan and costings. The Council will work alongside the school and the Department for Education to agree the educational design of the project and the timeframe for delivery.

The new building will have an energy efficient design with high sustainability standards and will achieve net zero in operation. The improvements aim to transform the learning environment and support teachers to deliver a high-quality education, so that pupils gain the knowledge, skills, and qualifications they need to succeed.

Councillor Robert Cernik, Cabinet Member for Children and Families said: “It is fantastic news that Upton-by-Chester High School has been chosen to benefit from the School Rebuilding Programme.

“The Council has been working alongside the school for some years to make sure that the buildings help pupils reach their full potential by creating the best learning setting possible and we are really pleased that this can now become a reality.

“The Council will continue to keep residents informed of developments and work to ensure that there is minimal disruption to both the school and the local community.”