Plans reveal how a redeveloped city secondary school could look

Plans to redevelop and rebuild a secondary school on Wearside have been officially submitted to city development bosses, with members of the public invited to have their say.

- by Chris Binding

A CGI image of how the redeveloped Thornhill Academy could look under plans from the Department for Education.

Sunderland City Council's planning department has received an application for the demolition of a number of school buildings and the erection of new school buildings and facilities at Thornhill Academy.

This includes “the erection of a new three-storey teaching block and a swimming pool facility, along with refurbishments to the existing sports hall and reprovision of external sports facilities and a new sports pitch.”

The school is operated by Consilium Academies and recently announced the appointment of a new Principal and unveiled early designs for a multi-million-pound school rebuild and sports campus.

It is understood that the proposed redevelopment is part of the Government's School Rebuilding Programme and includes proposals for replacement school buildings at Thornhill Academy's Thornholme Road base.

Information on the plans was revealed in recent weeks when an application for a “screening opinion” was submitted, which said there would be “no change to the number of pupils and staff on site as part of the proposed development.”

A separate full planning application for the school redevelopment has since been submitted to council planning officials, with members of the public now able to view detailed plans via Sunderland City Council's planning portal website.