Plans submitted for sixth form building in Bury St Edmunds at St Benedict’s Catholic School

A secondary school in Bury St Edmunds has applied to build a single-storey sixth form facility on its site.

St Benedict’s Catholic School, in Beetons Way, has submitted a planning application to West Suffolk Council for a detached building to house the sixth form.

It would feature a study space, common room, office, toilet, lobby and kitchenette.

A document by Ian Palmer Architects said: “St Benedicts’ sixth form is thriving and numbers are increasing.

“There are currently 150 pupils in the sixth form and their only dedicated space is a common room of 74 sqm.

“There are no study spaces, so the school library is often used by sixth formers for this purpose.”

The document said the school was built in the 1960s for a third of the pupil numbers that there are currently (975), and whilst additional classrooms have been built over the years, there has been no increase to infrastructure, including social spaces, since that time.

“The sixth form have particularly suffered in this regard,” it added.

The proposal would also benefit the rest of the school community, said the architects’ report.

“By providing a sixth form study area the younger age groups will be able to access the library more easily.

“The existing common room will be used as a chapel which also releases the drama studio for greater use as the drama studio is currently used for Mass.”

Headteacher Imogen Senior said they always describe their sixth form as ‘small but perfectly formed’ and they want to make sure that the school’s excellent teaching is matched by excellent student spaces fit for their ‘amazing’ students.

She said: “As a long-standing provider of excellent post-16 education we are always looking for ways to enhance our sixth form provision.

“As St Benedict’s has continued to grow we have for some time been planning on developing the resources in school for our sixth form students and we are delighted that the plans for the new building have been submitted and we hope that this will be in place as soon as possible.”

St Benedict’s is the only school in Bury St Edmunds to still have its own sixth form.

Eco Classrooms & Nurseries is the specialist contractor/installer for the build.

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