News Beat
Major rebuild of Framwellgate School in Durham begins
Framwellgate School in Durham will be rebuilt to replace the current outdated teaching facilities, previously described as requiring significant improvements.
Specialist teaching spaces for ICT, technology and science will be built within a new three-storey building. Most of the site’s existing buildings will be demolished, except the sports hall.
The new building is due to be ready to accept pupils from September 2027, when the school will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
Michael Wright, headteacher, said: “It’s wonderful that the work is now underway and that this community here in Durham City will get a state-of-the-art school building that matches the depth of the ambition for its young people.”
School staff and pupils celebrated the start of work on the new buildings at a groundbreaking ceremony last week.
Framwellgate School was first identified for redevelopment in 2010 but faced several setbacks.
It was later outlined for improvements by the Department for Education’s School Rebuilding Programme in 2022 after repeated reports of flooding, severe overcrowding, and health and safety issues. Many classrooms on-site have been described as inaccessible.
Plans show the building will be built in a horseshoe shape around a central courtyard, providing sheltered social space for staff and students. A new multi-Use games area (MUGA) is planned alongside the existing all-weather pitch. The newbuild will also allow the school to increase its pupil roll from 1,375 to 1,600.
Mr Wright added: “The design of the new building is meant to physically signify what this community wants for all its young people; for them to see school as a place to discover their passions, be it art, music, drama, maths, English, science, sport, history or a whole host of other exciting areas, to be inspired and enthused and leave us ready to take their next steps into a future of their own making.
“As the community around the school continues to grow in the coming years, we’re excited to be at the heart of it with a school building that reflects everything that we and the young people of Durham have to offer.”
