EXCITING new plans have been unveiled for a South Lakeland special school which is set to undergo a £3million development in 2017.

A new hall, two classrooms, physiotherapy space and sensory and rebound therapy rooms have all been proposed for Sandgate School on the Queen Katherine School site on Appleby Road, Kendal.

Sandgate School has split locations in Kendal and the new development will enable pupils in years seven, eight, and nine to join older students at the Queen Katherine School site.

The new purpose-built accommodation will provide state-of-the-art facilities to support students with special needs. There will also be a new servery to provide lunch facilities for both Sandgate and Queen Katherine Schools, enabling further integration of pupils from both schools.

Cumbria County Council (CCC) expects to appoint a contractor in the new year and, subject to planning consent, building work is scheduled to start in mid-2017 with completion in Summer 2018.

Cllr Clare Feeney-Johnson, CCC cabinet member for schools and learning, said: “This is an exciting new development which will create purpose-built facilities for the school and enable all of Sandgate’s secondary age students to be on a single site.

"Sandgate pupils have been involved in the design process and their feedback has helped shape the layout of the new building. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new development start to take shape next year.”

Queen Katherine School’s head teacher Jon Hayes said: “We are delighted that we will soon have the whole of Sandgate’s secondary school students on our site. The co-location brings a whole host of benefits to both sets of students and this next step will continue this tradition.”

Sandgate School head teacher Joyce Fletcher said: “ It is a unique development, and the opportunity to extend this to our Key Stage 3 students shows great foresight on behalf of Cumbria County Council.

"Students, governors, staff and parents have all had the chance to influence the development, and we can't wait for the work to begin.”

Christian Judd of Carlisle-based Architects Plus, which has designed the new facilities, said: “We have worked hard over the last few months to ensure that we will provide a building that suits not only the pupils of Sandgate but also the wider context of the Queen Katherine School site. The contemporary and distinctive design solution that we have devised is a result of close collaboration with both schools including pupils, parents and members of staff.”