WATCH: Work starts on building the new Overdale School at Eastfield

The site of the new school is less than half a mile north of the current school in Eastfield and roughly three miles south of Scarborough.

It will accommodate 420 pupils plus a three-class nursery.

It is part of the Jazz Court development of the Middle Deepdale housing project, which is building nearly 1,400 new homes.

The new building will also be environmentally efficient and fully accessible to people with disabilities, with facilities for community use attached to the school.

These include a community room, with an entrance separate from the school, which will be available throughout the day.

The school hall will be made available for community use outside school times, with facilities managed by Eastfield Town Council.

Northallerton-based Walter Thompson Contractors Ltd has been appointed to build the school.

Site manager Graham Cooper said the project was scheduled to take 12 months.

Work began on Monday of last week, with bulk excavation – reducing the site to the required level.

“The company has plenty of experience in building new schools,” he said. “In Scarborough, we have built the Castle Grange care home in Dean Road, and Scarborough College’s Weaponness House refurb and new extension.”

He said the company had worked throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with procedures and control measures in place in accordance with Government guidance, and the supply of materials ensured.

The project has been developed in conjunction with Overdale School and will be delivered by North Yorkshire County Council with funding from the authority and developers Kebbell Homes and Keepmoat Ltd.

Overdale headteacher Vicki Logan said: “I am very excited about the new school.

“It is nine years since I attended the first planning meeting and there have been a number of setbacks along the way.

“The new school will be amazing for the children of Eastfield, offering state of the art facilities which will be a tremendous boost to their academic learning and also to making them feel valued as a community. The Overdale staff will have a beautiful new building to work in and every modern facility they need, making the working day more efficient. We cannot wait for it to come to fruition.”

Cllr Tony Randerson, borough council member for Eastfield and Osgodby, added: “This new school is much-needed and so I am delighted that work has begun on what will be a fantastic new facility for Eastfield.

“It will be a tremendous boost for the area and fits in very nicely with the regeneration work that is also due to commence during the course of this year.

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, executive member for Education and Skills, said: “These new facilities will benefit the whole of the local community, not just those who will be attending the school when it opens, and will meet the projected increased need for places that new housing developments will bring.”