A huge new secondary school will be built in the heart of Oldham town centre after councillors gave the proposals the green light.
The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy is to be constructed on the site of a former Sainsbury’s supermarket off Booth Street, which has now been demolished.
The proposed 1,200-pupil academy is named after the Oldham-born artist and architect Brian Clarke, who works predominantly in stained glass.
The cost of building the school, which is to be run by the Cranmer Education Trust, will be funded by the Department of Education.
It would employ a ‘minimum’ of 72 full time teaching staff and 37 support staff.
Planning officer Graham Dickman told councillors that the building had been designed with a ‘mill aesthetic’.
“Clearly this is a positive contribution to educational provision within the borough,” he added.
The proposed school will stand four storeys high, and documents state the building will be handed over to the trust in March 2023.
However the academy will open with a year 7 intake in September 2022, ‘initially teaching in…
