Work to start next week on the new Overdale School at Eastfield: Here's all you need to know

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

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.

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.

The work, expected to start on Monday, will be undertaken in accordance with Government guidance brought in as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Overdale School 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, member for Eastfield and Osgodby, added: “This new school is much-needed and so I am delighted that work is about to commence 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.

“The parents and children alike of Eastfield deserve nothing less.”

Contractor Walter Thompson has been appointed to build the school.

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, executive member for Education and Skills, said it was “great news” that work was to begin.

He added: “It has been a long-held ambition to see this scheme brought to fruition and, while the timescales have been extended, I am glad that we are now in a position to proceed.

“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.”