Nottinghamshire County Council has approved an additional £863,603 in funding to complete the expansion of Rushcliffe Spencer Academy, ensuring the school can accommodate 12 forms of entry by September 2026.
The decision comes after a detailed review by Arc Partnership highlighted unforeseen costs in the project, which initially received a £27 million grant in January 2023.
Rushcliffe School
The expansion project, aimed at increasing pupil places to meet growing demand in the area, has faced several unexpected hurdles. The original school buildings, constructed using the CLASP (Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme) system, contained a significant amount of asbestos. Despite pre-demolition surveys, more asbestos was discovered than anticipated, leading to additional removal costs and a 13-week delay in the project timeline.
Furthermore, investigations into two existing teaching blocks revealed that the fire compartmentalisation did not meet current Building Regulations. This necessitated a ‘whole building’ approach to ensure compliance, adding to the project’s complexity and cost.
Notts Gymnastics Association Building
The project also involved the Notts Gymnastics Association (NGA) building, a Council-owned facility previously linked to the on-site leisure centre, which was demolished as part of the expansion. Remedial works were required to make the NGA building ‘stand-alone’, and additional improvements were undertaken at the Council’s request to accommodate the NGA as a tenant. These works were not fully scoped at the time of the original grant award, contributing to the overspend.
The additional funding will be sourced from developer contributions (£551,703) and the School Places Programme (£311,900), both of which are already approved within the Council’s capital programme. The Council has stipulated that the Spencer Academies Trust must confirm its commitment to providing the additional pupil places by September 2026 as a condition of receiving the extra funds.
The majority of the work has now been completed. Without this funding, the academy will not be able to use the refurbished buildings and will not be able to provide the additional pupil places required.
The Council also highlighted that there were no viable alternatives to accommodate the increasing demand for secondary school places in the area, making the expansion of Rushcliffe Spencer Academy essential.
The decision to approve the additional funding was made after considering various statutory and policy implications, including crime and disorder, data protection, human rights, and public sector equality duty. Appropriate consultations were undertaken to ensure all potential impacts were addressed.
