Mortimer Community College reveals expansion plans in order to take on more pupils

Plans have been revealed to extend Mortimer Community College, on Reading Road, in order to accommodate more students.

The plans are proposing the addition of specialist teaching classrooms at the school with the aim of increasing the school’s Pupil Admission Numbers (PAN) from 1,050 to 1,200 by 2028.

It will involve the construction of a new building, which will house classrooms for ICT, science, art, technology and maths.

Simon Hignett, head teacher at Mortimer Community College, has told parents in a letter how the school intends to increase pupil numbers in the coming years.

The letter said: “As you know, over the last seven years the school has improved significantly, and we now have 240 students attending in Year 7, with waiting lists for other years groups.

“To meet demand, and to ensure class sizes do not increase, the school now requires additional, specialist teaching classrooms.

“The new building will include extra science, ICT, art, maths and technology classrooms.

“The increase in our PAN was agreed to commence from September 2023, with a staggered approach for each new academic year that attends the school.

“Our PAN will ultimately increase from 1,050 to 1,200 by the year 2028. This would be an increase of 25 students per year group over a five-year period.”

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The head teacher also stated that a pre-application inquiry has been issued for the school’s extension; however, a formal planning permission application is yet to be submitted to South Tyneside Council.

Parents and the local community were invited into the school during the last week of September to view the plans and drawings of the proposed extension ahead of any formal application being made.