Schools' successful move to two-tier education marks continued investment in Biggleswade says council

The move follows around £100m of investment after Central Bedfordshire Council’s successful bid for nearly £70million from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) to develop the infrastructure and facilities needed to support the town’s growth.

The start of the school term earlier this month meant that most children who went to lower, middle and upper schools before the summer holidays returned to schools now in the two-tier education system.

Making the transition in time for the start of term were Biggleswade Academy, Caldecote Academy, Dunton CofE Junior School, Edward Peake CofE (VC) School, Lawnside Academy, Northill CofE Academy, St Andrew’s CofE VC Primary School East, St Andrew’s CofE VC Primary School West, Stratton School, Sutton V.A. Primary School and Wrestlingworth CofE Infant School.

Work took place during the school break, with a huge effort from the schools, the council and builders to ensure the schools could meet the primary and secondary school curriculum.

Work included remodelling teaching spaces, and expanding the playing field at Caldecote Academy, to include an under-9s football pitch. At St Andrew’s, a new practical learning area was provided for classes such as cookery, art and design, while a new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) will allow for all year-round PE lessons, playing lots of different types of sports, as well as being used as playground space.

At Stratton School, as well as remodelling work to deliver a secondary school curriculum, a new computer suite was created, classrooms were refurbished, and the Sixth Form area was relocated into the old library to create a new common room, and grab-and-go food facilities. A new library was created in the atrium.

A further £32million of construction works will continue throughout 2025, providing more classrooms, teaching spaces and other facilities at some schools.

There will also be improvements to support Edwards Peake School’s transition from a middle to a secondary school, where a new sports hall and a new floodlit MUGA will be built. That will allow the conversion of the existing sports hall to create six classrooms, for improved art and design-technology provision, plus a computer suite.

Internal remodelling will create an enlarged English classroom and a smaller hall, that is larger than the existing one and will be multi-use so that pupils can use it for breakout groups, lunch, studying, presentation space and smaller assemblies.

Elsewhere, there will be a new practical space and a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) classroom at Caldecote Academy; a new teaching block at Dunton Junior School; a new teaching block and Multi-Use Games Area at Lawnside Academy; a new, larger hall at Northill CofE Academy; new teaching blocks at St Andrew’s East and West; a new SEND and Additional Resource Provision (ARP) unit at Stratton School; and a new hall and multi-use games areas for Sutton Primary.

Cllr Steve Owen, Central Bedfordshire Council executive member for families and children, said: “We’re pleased to say that all the schools in Biggleswade changed to either primary or secondary schools for the start of the September school term with additional places delivered as we had set out.

“This is a transformation project with significant investment which will ultimately make an incredible difference to the education of children and young people as it will reduce the number of disruptive transitions between schools from two to one. And, particularly as they work towards their GCSEs, it will allow them to focus on getting the best possible results with the help of teachers and staff that they are familiar with, inside brand-new and improved modern spaces.

“We thank the schools for their continued cooperation as work continues on some of the more significant projects, but the start of term has already marked a huge milestone in the investment being used to help make improvements to the area.”

In addition to the improvements to schools, other projects already completed or under way to improve the Biggleswade area include a new electricity substation that will more than double the power available to homes and businesses.