Extensions to Girls School Given Go-Ahead

Although the Government have cut drastically Northamptonshire County Council’s proposed schools expansion programme next year, the planned extension of Rushden Secondary School for Girls has been given the go-ahead.

The Rushden School was one of only three school projects in the county which escaped being axed when the Department of Education and Science decided to approve less than half the amount the county wanted to spend on school improvements in 1969-70.

The Rushden girls school extension, which will almost double the present capacity of just over 300 pupils, is expected to cost in the region of £249,000.

The problem with the girls’ school at the moment is that it is divided between two buildings – the old building on The Hayway, and the new block off Spencer Road which was opened in 1955 to relieve overcrowding.

At the final speech day for Miss Boys

To try and eliminate the obvious difficulty of conducting lessons under two roofs, it is planned to expand the new building off Spencer Road so that eventually all the school’s functions can be performed there.

A New School

Mr. Henry Reeves, Deputy Chief Education Officer of the county said that the new extension would be virtually a new school and would house about 600.

This would eventually be enlarged once more until the capacity was in the region of 1,000 pupils, thus moving towards the ultimate goal of comprehensive education.

He said that work would start sometime after the start of the new financial year in April. The new building would have a hall, kitchen, gymnasium, and additional classrooms. When it was completed about 18 months to two years after the actual work on the site started, all the staff and pupils would then be moved down to the new block.

It is hoped that the old building could be used for some form of primary education.