Liverpool Council offers update as wait for new school goes on

Liverpool Council will follow “proper procedure” to get a much needed new secondary school open despite pressure mounting around its opening date. Confusion reigns over the proposed starting time for pupils at Kings Leadership Academy in Wavertree.

In a bid to meet the demand for school places across the city, it had been proposed the school trust open its fifth site this September. With planning permission only being granted for the change of use from office buildings earlier this year, the opening date was pushed back until 2025.

A new council report suggested the Department for Education (DfE) “cannot confirm” it will be ready next September. When contacted by the ECHO, the DfE offered no further comment.

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A senior council leader has told colleagues despite an urge to get the school open, proper channels must be adhered to that will ensure additional school places are made available in Wavertree. Just weeks ago, the school said the process had begun to find and appoint a contractor for the change of use on the site at Wavertree Technology Park.

The school plans to offer 210 year 7 places initially and said it would be “founded on international research and traditional values, focusing on leadership and academic development.” Cllr Laurence Sidorczuk, Liberal Democrat member for Wavertree Village, pressed officials at an economy committee on progress.

He said: “I acknowledge the fact that questions have been asked by the MP for Wavertree (Paula Barker) in the House in the past six months or so. With that, I think it would be useful to have an update on the current situation.

“I am aware that there are planning issues involved, in particular that there needs to be a change of use of that particular building in order for it to become an educational establishment. It would be of great benefit for the future, because we do need the Kings Leadership Academy, it’s there to improve the numbers going through.”

Cllr Sidorczuk said development on the school “has to happen in the short rather than the long term.” Earlier this year, the Trust confirmed this would not be possible, suggesting September 2025 would be a more likely commencement date.

The chosen location had housed PlayStation manufacturer Sony for more than 25 years. However, in an update to the culture and economy scrutiny committee ahead of its meeting next week, the future of the site has been cast into doubt once more.

In a report on the city's school's capital programme, it was said the Wavertree site had been "beset" by delays and the "DfE cannot confirm that the school will be available for 2025. A planning application for temporary buildings is under consideration and an application for the main building is expected in 2026."

The school would be the latest operation of the Great Schools Trust’s academies, joining those already established in Dingle, Bootle, Warrington and Bolton. However, a planning application for the site was only received by Liverpool Council on February 1 and subsequently approved.

Investigations have taken place to see if a small year 8 intake can be accommodated alongside a full cohort of year 7 pupils to mitigate the delays. Cllr Nick Small, cabinet member for growth and economy, said: “The planning process needs to happen and on all planning applications, the city council wants to do it properly and do it by the proper procedure, which is exactly what we will do on this.”