A BRAND new secondary school is what’s required to safeguard the futures of more than a thousand pupils in York.

Speaking in the House of Commons York Central MP, Rachael Maskell, has called on the Government to provide York’s oldest secondary school, All Saints RC School in South Bank, with a new school building as part of its rollout of the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP).

READ MORE: Falling masonry, wearing gloves in class - York schools in need of urgent repair

Ms Maskell said: “Parts of the school date back over 300 years. I have had the tour with the estates team at the school; it is taking ever more of their time just to try to keep the site safe, which is a major challenge.

“Both sites have public access, one to a public cemetery in the middle of the school site. There is no segregated outdoor space, and in fact you have to pass through the school car park, which is the only play area for the children as well, among the teachers’ cars. That is completely inappropriate. The other site is on a public right of way towards the racecourse.

“Needless to say, the behaviour of inebriated racegoers poses a risk, as they urinate on their way back to the city through the school premises, so the safeguarding risks need to be taken into account in the programme for rebuilding schools.

“The school is old. Its masonry is falling off, and any repair needed is highly expensive. That is partly because the school is in a conservation area, in the sight of the York walls; it has to reach an aesthetic standard to be considered appropriate, so a walkway repair that would normally cost about £5,000 would be £11,000 at the cheapest. The portico, which needs to be replaced, adds nothing to education or the school environment but costs the school £20,000. That is just patching work. We could also talk about the guttering system, which has to meet a particular standard, and other aesthetic features of the school because it is a heritage site.

“I witnessed holes in the floor of the school gym in fact, when I went around, there was a new hole where the feet of children playing sport had gone through. Where there are ceiling tiles, they have been falling as well. The cost of the floor repair alone is £60,000 even more for the whole gym. Clearly, this is just sending good money after bad, or bad money after good, to try to address the serious repairs that are needed.”

With about 1,418 on roll All Saints is currently on a split site with Years 7, 8 and 9 taught in buildings behind the Bar Convent in Nunnery Lane and Years 10 to 13 at Mill Mount.

The school is rated outstanding by Ofsted and takes pupils from across York, Malton, Pocklington, Tadcaster, Pickering and Selby, but is being let down by its buildings, according to the city’s MP.

The school has applied for the SRP and has a new site in mind where it currently has games pitches in Sim Balk Lane next to York College. Further, it will recover much of the funding with the capital receipts from the sale of its current site.

The Government has said that later this year, they intend to select schools provisionally for up to 300 of the remaining places in the SRP, reserving some places for the future. Schools have been nominated and the nomination process is now closed, but professional evidence of severe need may be submitted until the end of the month.

Ms Maskell said: “I cannot believe that there is a more urgent case (than All Saints) on the Minister’s desk.

“The new build proposed would end those challenges and enable All Saints to focus on excellence, and the very special environment that teachers bring to pupils, many of whom struggle, to help them flourish.

“Just imagine what they could achieve if they had a school that was designed for the modern age. My plea is that the Minister takes back the story of All Saints and enriches the school rebuilding programme to replace the school with a new school facility that those pupils and teachers deserve.”

Back in 2013 The Press reported on plans for a new £20 million school for All Saints.

Then head teacher Bill Scriven said a shortlist of potential sites were drawn up, but sadly the plans came to nothing.

Today All Saints head teacher, Sharon Keelan-Beardsley, said: “The school really appreciates the support offered by Rachael Maskell.

“She has been a great advocate for the school and recognises the contribution that All Saints makes in ensuring that our city’s young people are developing into confident, mature and caring members of society.

“We have applied to the Department of Education for the school’s rebuilding programme and we hope that it provides us with an injection of money to ensure that our buildings can match the excellent education that takes place in All Saints.”

Michelle Donelan, Minister for Higher and Further Education said: “The York Central constituency has received substantial investment, more than £1.5 million, for condition allocations.

“We will announce shortly the schools that have passed the bar in the nomination process, so I ask Ms Maskell to be patient in waiting to see whether her schools are on the list.

“I am sure that other ministers in the department will be happy to speak to her, although at this stage they will be limited in what they can say.”