A NEW primary school will be built in York by the end of the year, the Government has pledged.

Education Secretary Michael Gove, has said in Parliament that work to rebuild Carr Infant School in Ostman Road, Acomb, will get under way in the next 12 months.

Mr Gove was answering a question from York Central MP, Hugh Bayley, in the House of Commons after a funding bid was submitted last year.

The precise details on how much the school will cost to build and more precise information on the design have yet to be announced.

Head teacher Sue Bell welcomed the statement, but said more detail is needed from the Government.

She said: “Carr Infant School would be keen to receive confirmation of intentions and timescales for our new building as soon as is possible.”

Last week, City of York Council’s education chief, Coun Janet Looker, said the authority has bids in to the Department of Education to build a new school on the same site at Carr Infants in Acomb and a bid in to rebuild or significantly refurbish Lord Deramore’s in Heslington.

Mr Bayley said the initial bid for Carr Infants included a dining room big enough to serve 100 hot dinners a day.

At present 70 to 100 of the school’s 320 pupils a day have school dinners, but in September 2013, the deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, announced that from next September all infant school children will be entitled to a free school meal.

Mr Bayley said: “This will see demand for hot dinners increase at Carr Infant School to more than 300 a day. I pressed the Secretary of State on whether the school will now get a larger dining room and Mr Gove confirmed that a feasibility study was being carried out.

"I wrote in September to the Education Funding Agency on the school’s behalf, to press them to meet the school to agree the plans and a timetable for building the new school.

"This resulted in a meeting between the agency and the school in October. I asked his question in parliament because the school still does not have a firm timetable for the rebuilding programme.”

Mr Bayley said he has written again to Mr Gove for further clarification about the dining arrangements for the new school.

Coun Looker said: “It’s certainly reassuring that the Secretary of State has confirmed that the school’s redevelopment is going to begin in the next 12 months and we look forward to gaining confirmation of this in writing. Our focus is to continue to work with the school and the DfE to ensure that we gain the highest quality facilities possible for pupils and teachers.”

The Press reported in November that All Saints’ RC secondary school, which has 1,250 pupils, and is currently on a split site behind the Bar Convent in Nunnery Lane and at Mill Mount is also looking at a potential shortlist of sites for a new school.