A new Nottingham school which will offer more than 1,000 places for pupils is taking shape after an old college was knocked down to make way for it. Bluecoat Trent Academy, which is due to open in September 2024, is currently under construction where Nottingham College's former Clarendon campus once stood on Pelham Avenue, Carrington.
The 1,200 place secondary school will include a teaching block with an adjoined sports hall, catering and dining facilities, the planting of new trees, games court areas and external learning space. There will also be student bicycle, visitor and staff car parking, servicing zone bin store and secure boundary fencing.
A total of £30m will be invested in Bluecoat Trent Academy, which includes more than £5 million of council grants. Planning permission for the new school, which will help address rising pupil numbers in Nottingham, was granted in 2022 - despite one councillor arguing the structure looked "like a prison".A suspected arson attack was carried out on the old Clarendon College building as it was being demolished in 2022.
Maid Marian Way College has been used as an interim home for Bluecoat Trent Academy while its new school on Pelham Avenue is constructed. The city centre building was closed by Nottingham College, along with Clarendon College, after it finished its new city hub in 2021.