New SEND plans for former grammar school site

A new school for pupils with special educational needs (SEND) will be built on the site of a former grammar school.

The new school, which will cater for 120 pupils, has been approved by North Yorkshire Council's executive.

The former Northallerton Grammar School buildings have been unused since 2021 when Northallerton School pupils moved to its Brompton Road site.

Plans to redevelop the land were first submitted to the government in 2022, when the area was identified as having one of the council's most urgent needs for SEND provision.

Demand for SEND support in North Yorkshire has risen sharply in recent years, with the number of pupils supported by Education, Health and Care Plans increasing by more than 110% since 2016, to more than 6,400 children and young people.

Over the same period, special school places have increased from 820 in 2017 to a predicted 1,466 by September this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The proposals come as the government prepares major reforms to the SEND system, with a new schools white paper expected later this year.

Northallerton Grammar School was built in 1909. It became a comprehensive in the 1970s, and later changed its name to Northallerton College.

In 2015 it merged with Allertonshire School to form Northallerton School and teaching was split between the two sites until 2021.

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