Providing a direct replacement for the former Ernesford Grange Secondary School, first opened in 1972 as one of the first suburban community colleges in the country, and Alice Stevens Special School.

Accommodating 1,025 pupils aged 11-19 years, including a specialist ADHD SEN unit for an additional 10 pupils, Ernesford Grange adjoins Alice Stevens which in turn provides 150 pupil places. This special school element is tailored to respond to a broad spectrum of learning difficulties, including ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder), MLD (Moderate Learning Difficulties, SLD (Severe Learning Difficulties), and PMLD (Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulties).

As a proportion of the School’s site falls within the designated green belt area of the Sowe Valley, the school has been developed in such a way as to minimise the impact on the character and extent of the green belt.

Although the total cohort was increased, efficient planning of the accommodation focusing on a predominantly three storey massing of the secondary element mitigated the impact on this important green swathe.

The school’s outdoor curriculum - vital for the academic, emotional and pastoral development of the pupils – is supported through a variety of outdoor spaces including separate hard and soft play spaces for each learning phase.