PLANS are in place to move classes of pupils from a special school in York to another school when Burnholme Community College closes its doors.

City of York Council is looking to change the current arrangement whereby some Applefields School pupils who are taught at Burnholme Community College move across the city to Manor CE Academy, at a cost of £100,000, by September next year.

Applefields is York’s only special school for secondary-aged children, and caters for 140 pupils aged 11 to 19 from the city and the surrounding areas of North and East Yorkshire.

The aim of the move is to continue to provide opportunities for pupils with learning difficulties to be based full-time in a mainstream secondary school with the support of Applefields staff.

There are currently 11 Year 7 and Year 8 students who use the facility at Burnholme and discussions have taken place with Applefields head, George Gilmore, and head teachers of mainstream secondary schools to identify a new base for the class after the council announced the 2014 closure of Burnholme.

In a report to York council’s cabinet member for education, children and young people, Coun Janet Looker, Eoin Rush, the council’s assistant director for children’s specialist services, said: “Manor CE has well-established, high-quality provision for students with a wide range of special educational needs.

“It is proposed that the provision will be located in an area immediately adjacent to the school’s special educational needs hub which will enable the development of a dynamic relationship with the school’s SEN provision.

“The success of the current provision at Burnholme has highlighted the value of this inclusive approach for some young people.”

At a meeting next week Coun Looker will be asked to agree to the transfer of the Applefields School satellite provision to Manor CE Academy and to allocate £100,000 to supporting the move.