Sheffield school to be demolished and replaced

Byron Wood School on Earldom Road will be bulldozed to make way for a new two storey primary school on the playground. Pupils will remain at the school while the new building is constructed.

The existing school was built in the 1930s as a secondary school and was converted to a middle school in the 1960s. In 1991 it amalgamated with Ellsemere Nursery to become Byron Wood School and in 2016 became an Academy.

The existing school is described as 'inefficient and oversized' for its 472 pupils, aged between three and 11, and 57 members of staff.

The existing school building has an internal floor area of 2,892 sqm but the new school will be smaller with a reduced footprint of 2,179 sqm.

Planners say: 'The existing school must remain operational during construction. The new school has been located to the south of the existing building which is the only feasible location for the new building. It allows it to be constructed while the existing school remains operational and safe to use.

'The new school will be constructed using crane access from the south where a temporary staff car park will also be located. Following completion of the new build pupils and staff will move into the new building the old school will be fenced off and demolished.

'The site will then be landscaped, the new playing areas provided and forestry school area reinstated.'

Officers say because there will be no extra pupils or staff in the new school, it shouldn't create any more traffic.

The new school is being delivered through the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP), a national strategy for the redevelopment of school sites.

PSBP is a privately financed public private partnership programme set up to address schools in most urgent need of repair or replacement. Funding is being allocated by the Education Skills Funding Agency.