The White Hills Park Trust are delighted to announce that Broxtowe Borough Council have approved the planning application for a complete new build of Bramcote College, which represents a major milestone in the project and is a significant step closer to delivering the school building that the students and local community deserve.
The funding for the new build of Bramcote College is from the proceeds of the sale of the school's unused and redundant playing fields, located to the north of the site and adjacent to Coventry Lane, which was transferred to the White Hills Park Trust from Nottinghamshire County Council. Avant Homes are preparing a full planning application for the land to agree designs for a modern residential development of 457 dwellings, including open green spaces, and have launched a virtual exhibition and a chance to provide feedback before the full application is submitted. The virtual exhibition, showing the site, contextual analysis, proposals and FAQs, can be accessed here.
On 15th July 2022 Bramcote College welcomed the public to its Summer Festival, and within the marketing for this, sent to all parents at Bramcote College and posted on social media, was an invitation to view an exhibition of the new build plans. Photographs of the setup, including the looping presentation video used and copies of roll-up banners can be found below. The content was published the same day on Bramcote College's website at https://bramcote.college/newbuild
First published on 15th July 2022 in issue 333 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and to all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the websites of the Trust and each of its academies. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
As we near the end of term, there are a couple of important items I wanted to share with parents and our school communities. Although they are particularly relevant for our two secondary schools, they also have significance for the Trust as a whole.
Firstly, this week sees the publication of the latest Ofsted inspection report for one of our Trust schools, and the first Ofsted report since we began the expansion of the Trust. As such, it is an important moment for us, and gives a good indication of the effectiveness of our Trust schools. Alderman White was inspected in June, and very securely retained it’s Good judgement. I’d like to congratulate Mrs Mellors, all of her team and the Alderman White students on their continued success – it was a richly deserved judgement.
The report highlights just some of the many strengths of the school, including the excellent pupil behaviour, the broad curriculum, teachers’ deep understanding of their subjects and the high expectations of school leaders. Inspectors recognised the school’s strong sense of community, pupils’ pride in their school and the school’s very effective approach to safeguarding. During the inspection, many parents responded to the online survey, and the results were among the most positive that Ofsted have ever recorded. You can read the report on the school’s website.
The other significant news we have had recently is the progress we have been making with the Bramcote College new build. As you may be aware, we have been working for some considerable time on funding a new school through the sale of unused land. We have now reached the point where the new school design is complete and we are submitting planning permission. The land has been marketed and we have selected a buyer, a national 5- star house builder, which means that funding is in place, and we have signed an agreement with the County Council for the release of the land. The success of these complex negotiations means that the Trust as a whole continues on a very sound financial footing.
First published on 29th January 2021 in issue 274 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and to all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the websites of the Trust and each of its academies. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
As many of you will know, over the last few years, we have been working to secure a new school building for Bramcote College, using the receipts from the sale of the land of former playing fields on Coventry Lane. It has always been a central part of our vision that our new school will be at the heart of our community, as it is for all of the schools in the Trust. The best way to ensure that this happens is to keep people informed and involved in defining the vision of our new school. One way we will do this is to invite parents and other local people to a termly meeting as we bring our new building to life.
First published on 11th December 2020 in issue 269 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and to all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the websites of the Trust and each of its academies. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
Many of you will have followed the various twists and turns of our efforts to secure a new build for Bramcote College and Bramcote College Sixth Form for several years now. It is fair to say that we have had a few false dawns along the way, but it is nice to be able to share some good news, and to report a genuine milestone.
At a meeting of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Policy Committee on Wednesday, a resolution was passed unanimously which approved the sale of the council’s freehold of land on Coventry Lane to our Trust for £1, on the condition that we then market the land and use the proceeds to rebuild the College. Our solicitors are now drawing up the contract which will put this into action.
First published on 16th October 2020 in issue 263 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the Alderman White School, Bramcote College and Bramcote College Sixth Form websites. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
I am writing to update you on the progress of our new build plans for Bramcote College. Last Autumn, we shared our plans for building a new school. I would like to thank everyone in our school community for your patience as we have worked on this, and I can reassure you that we have done everything possible to move forward.
I have been working closely with Nottinghamshire County Council officers and Council Members to drive the project forward and achieve our key purpose of building a brand new school and while I am frustrated this has not happened at the pace we expected, I am pleased we are now in a position to move forwards. I am grateful to the County Council for understanding the importance of having a suitable school building for the good of the entire community, and for working with us to overcome the obstacles.
First published on 13th September 2019 in issue 220 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the Alderman White School, Bramcote College and Bramcote College Sixth Form websites for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of issue. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
This week, we signed off on the design of the new Bramcote College Building. Over the last few months, school and Trust staff have worked with the architects from ARK partnerships and the team from Wates, who will be carrying out the build, to design a new school of superb quality which will be a wonderful resource for our community. We have spoken to staff and members of the community, and also considered the views of all stakeholders, including students to make sure that all voices are represented.
First published on 28th June 2019 in issue 215 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the Alderman White School, Bramcote College and Bramcote College Sixth Form websites for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of issue. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
This week saw another big step forward in the new Bramcote College build project. On Tuesday, we had the first of the consultation events that will take place as we develop the design. We were delighted to see a large group of parents, carers and members of our local community who came to see the early plans and give us their views. They were able to talk to Stella Rousseau, principal architect who was there with other colleagues from ARC Partnership, as well as representatives from Wates, the main contractor, and Nottinghamshire County Council, who are providing the up-front funding for the project.
We have now settled on the basic layout and configuration of the building, established a timeline and begun to design some of the internal spaces. Over the next few weeks, the way that the building is laid out will become more detailed, including the precise location of classrooms, offices and social spaces within the school. As the design is taking place, we have been able to establish some key principles:
First published on 24th May 2019 in issue 211 of the Trust Newsletter. Newsletters are sent to subscribers and all parents/carers of students at The White Hills Park Trust, for whom we hold a valid email address. They also published on the Alderman White School, Bramcote College and Bramcote College Sixth Form websites for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of issue. Archive copies of the Newsletter are available on request.
After a long and sometimes frustrating period of waiting, excitement is building as we are now planning in earnest for our new Bramcote College building. As you know, Nottinghamshire County Council have committed to providing the up-front funding for the new school, and we have been busy securing the necessary permissions and agreements so that the building work can begin. Over the next couple of weeks, there are a number of surveys that are taking place that will inform the design and construction, including ecology surveys, particularly important in a location like ours. We have also had on-site visits by contractors to discuss access, location of builders’ compound, deliveries and so on.
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