Former Wigan high school buildings are being demolished to make way for a special school's new home

What was most recently Central Park on Montrose Avenue, Worsley Hall, but has stood empty for several years now, is currently being torn down to make way for an £11m new base for Hope School.

Only 40 per cent of the buildings will survive of what was also variously called Pemberton Secondary Modern, Pemberton High, Kingsdown High and Pembec in the decades since it was erected in the 1960s.

Wigan Council held consultations on a comprehensive redevelopment of how pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are taught locally in 2018 and ’19.

And with public backing, the first phase involves Hope School decamping from its current home at Marus Bridge and, from then on, virtually every other special school in the borough would then either move or be almost totally rebuilt.

The plan is to have the Montrose Avenue site completely redeveloped by the end of next year but pupils will be coming over in phases, the first being the sixth form as soon as May this year.

The whole SEN borough project will take place over over the next five to 10 years.

Only Newbridge Learning Community School in Platt Bridge stands to be unchanged, with every other facility requiring major and dramatic alterations due to a lack of places for all the children needing to go there.

The council said the clear outcome of the consultations was the view that the borough’s high-quality specialist school network should be maintained and strengthened, rather than the authority looking at options such as trying to integrate more pupils into mainstream education.

The Hope School project is the most urgent because it is said to be too small, has issues with the condition of the buildings and has had problems with flooding, its electricity supply and shortage of parking spaces.

The new school at Worsley Hall would have 25 more places than the current establishment.

Over the coming years the council is also looking at rebuilding Rowan Tree Primary School or moving it to a new site in Leigh as well as rebuilding or moving Landgate School in Bryn.

There is enough land at the Atherton site for new construction while teaching continues in the existing buildings, the council says.

In the longer term there intentions to reconstruct or relocate Willow Grove Primary School and a large extension to Oakfield High School in Hindley.

Willow Grove could also still be used while new buildings are put up but the council is also looking into more provision in Leigh.

This could be on the same land identified for Rowan Tree but would be a separate institution under Willow Grove’s leadership.

Other temporary measures are also being looked at as demand for special school places is so high in Leigh, but the consultation did not specifically say what these are.

It has not been determined what will happen to the current Hope School buildings in their entirety, although part of the site will provide for 18 to 25-year-olds with special educational needs.