The Isles of Scilly Local Education Authority has been allocated funding from the Department for Children, School and Families for a new school base as part of the national Building Schools for the Future Pathfinder Scheme. The new school base will be on St Mary's. The school will teach children from 3 - 16 years and construction will have to be completed by September 2011. This exciting project provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for a new school that will benefit the Islands' children for generations to come.
The Planning Department of the Council of the Isles of Scilly has undertaken a SWOT analysis Opens in a new window of six potential locations for the school looking at both planning and sustainability issues. The preferred location for the new school is the land adjacent to the Primary School at Carn Gwaval. 
The formal governance structure for the project has been based on the industry standard Prince 2 (Projects in a Controlled Environment) model. The project will be overseen by an executive group - the Project Board - which will be the main decision making group. The Project Board is supported by an Advisory Group and a Community Consultative Group.
A series of community consultation events has already taken place in order to find out what the community wants to see and do in the new school, over 150 people attended the consultations which took place on ever island, the results of which will now be collated in order to form an invaluable source of information and guidance.
The Development Brief for theNew School on St Marys has now been approved. The purpose of this development brief is to provide a detailed spatial planning framework to guide the development of a new school on St Mary's in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
The development brief identifies the information and survey work required to progress the project either prior to or as part of the submission of a detailed planning application. The brief identifies the main requirements, together with the opportunities and constraints, to ensure that the new school meets the highest educational, environmental and sustainable standards possible.
The development brief supplements the policies and proposals contained in the Local Plan. The development will be identified within the revised Local Development Scheme and now has the status of a Supplementary Planning Document. Consequently, the development brief now forms part of the Isles of Scilly Local Development Framework.
In accordance with Government guidance set out in Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Development Frameworks, the development brief was subjected to a sustainability appraisal Opens in a new window.
The Development Brief for the New School on St Mary's Opens in a new window and Sustainability Appraisal Opens in a new window can be downloaded here or are available for public inspection at the Planning and Development Department in the Old Wesleyan Chapel, St Mary's, St Mary's Library and the Community Halls and Reading Rooms on each of the inhabited off-islands.
The three current off-island school bases and Mundesley will be unaffected by the proposal to build a new school on St. Marys.
Please see this Opens in a new window article for links to prefered design drawings. You can leave feedback in an online survey here Opens in a new window.
These pages will be updated as the project progresses.
If you wish to express a view or comment on the project please email newschoolbuild@scilly.gov.uk
Below are links to other useful sites.
Building Schools for the Future Opens in a new window
Department for Children Families and Schools Opens in a new window
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment Opens in a new window
