Liverpool College expansion celebrated

Hundreds of extra pupils will get the chance to attend one of Liverpool’s most popular schools – after it benefited from the Mayor’s £180 million school investment programme.

A new £3.7 million Key Stage 1 ‘pre-prep’ block at Liverpool College will be used by primary school classes from reception up to year two, funded by the Liverpool Schools Investment Programme (LSIP).

It will grow the school’s population by 196 over the next few years, helping tackle the issue of it being heavily oversubscribed.

The historic school, which takes pupils aged from 4 – 19, converted from a private school to a non-fee paying Academy in 2013.

Since then it has seen a massive growth in demand for places, with more than 400 applications for 84 reception class places.

The new building replaces an overcrowded Victorian villa with small classrooms impractical for modern teaching methods, and enjoys views across the green fields on its 28 acre campus.

Head Hans van Mourik Broekman said: “We are really pleased to have been given the opportunity to achieve the dream of growing the school as an educational opportunity for all children in Liverpool.

“The opening will give us chance to thank the Mayor formally for his support and vision in making this dream a reality for our current and future pupils.”

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “Our investment in schools right across the city has transformed education for many thousands of Liverpool pupils.

“Liverpool College is a brilliant school and as a result is hugely oversubscribed, which is why I am pleased we have been able to invest in the site to give more pupils the opportunity to attend.

“The funding we have made available to Liverpool College and other schools in the city is making a massive difference to pupils and staff, enabling them to teach in better surroundings using the latest equipment.

“Along the way we have also mainly used local firms in the construction process, securing and creating a substantial number of jobs as well as giving apprentices a helping hand on to the employment ladder.”

The Liverpool Schools Investment Programme (LSIP) has seen 22 schools rebuilt and refurbished over the last five years using council and government cash.

More than 14,000 students and pupils have so far directly benefited from the transformation. It also created more than 2,000 construction jobs, while 200 young people were given the chance to develop their skills and improve their career prospects through apprenticeships.

Around 62 per cent of the investment was spent with Liverpool firms, rising to 74 per cent across the whole of Merseyside.

Funding of £45 million was generated from the sale of former school sites for housing development – which helped to recoup some of the costs. As part of this, 10 new housing sites with 650 new homes were created, which have created revenue from council tax.

The council has further benefited from an annual £650,000 ‘windfall’ from the lease of buildings, which it will receive for the next 25 years to reinvest in essential services.