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A secondary school in Preston has unveiled plans for a major expansion designed to ease the space pressures it is currently facing.
Preston Muslim Girls High School is seeking permission for a new two-storey block which will provide another four classrooms on its site in Deepdale.
The proposal would form the second phase of the 600-pupil school’s Crescent Building development, the first element of which opened in 2020. The new wing would also include a two-court sports hall, changing rooms and toilets.
The school – rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted – is currently spread across three buildings in an industrial area off Deepdale Mill Street.
Phase 2 of the Crescent would nestle in the north of the site, alongside its forerunner of the same name and behind the Deepdale Mill building that fronts the road.
The expansion would also result in the creation of nine additional car parking spots for the school, whose 37 full-time and 47 part-time staff currently have access to only 17 on-site spaces. Two new minibus bays will also be added – bringing the total to four.
A planning statement submitted to Preston City Council describes the basis for the proposal as being the provision of “much needed additional space, increasing the provision of general classrooms [to] ease the pressures on the current facilities”.
It adds that the design and layout of the proposed facility – which will feature an external staircase – is “sympathetic to the surrounding existing buildings”, while its red brick and silver panel finish would be “consistent” with phase 1.
The school spent more than two decades as an independent facility after it was first founded in 1989 before moving into the state sector in September 2011.
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