Two new schools in Littleport will receive sponsorship from the Active Learning Trust after permission was granted by the Department of Education.

Ely Standard: An overview of the Littleport site so farAn overview of the Littleport site so far (Image: Archant)

The trust’s application, relating to a secondary and special school, follows the withdrawal of the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust as a previously proposed sponsor.

The four form entry secondary school, Littleport Academy, will initially cater for 600 pupils aged 11 to 16, with the potential to accommodate 750 pupils in the future.

The special educational needs (SEN) school on the same site will cater for 110 pupils between the ages of two and 19 and include a hydrotherapy pool for swimming therapy programmes.

The Littleport site is scheduled for completion in July 2017, with a planned opening date for both schools in September 2017.

Daniel Divine, Cambridgeshire County Councillor for Littleport, said: “I am pleased that the Active Learning Trust, who submitted a very strong proposal, is able to step in and promote these two schools.

“They already have a strong presence in Cambridgeshire and I know how keen they are to begin working with the local community in Littleport to make sure the new schools and the community uses attached to them are a success.”

Gary Peile, chief executive officer of the Active Learning Trust, said: “We have learned a great deal from the new provision at Chesterton and Isle of Ely Primary Schools and look forward to the opening of new secondary and special schools in 2017.”

The Active Learning Trust operates 14 schools across East Anglia, five of which are in Cambridgeshire. These include: Kingsfield Primary School, Isle of Ely Primary School, Neale-Wade Academy and Burrowmoor Primary School.