UCS Bolton: School unveils plan for new four floor building

Bolton University Collegiate School on Deane Road, known as UCS Bolton, hopes to add an entirely new building to its existing campus, to the south of the main school building, which will add space for extra teaching and other activities over four floors.

This comes not long after revelations that 23 schools across the borough are oversubscribed, with the council specifically citing UCS Bolton as a way of helping to meet this challenge.

Speaking at the time, a Bolton Council spokesperson said: “The recent addition of the University Collegiate School and the pending completion of Kings Leadership Academy in Harper Green will also ease pressure on secondary school places while offering families greater choice.

“Pupil projections for future years are volatile, especially due to the pandemic, but we monitor the data closely so we can continue to offer every family a school place within the borough.”

University Collegiate School, on Deane Road, Bolton

The University Collegiate School was founded by the University of Bolton, which it operates in partnership with.

The building is situated on the university campus and the site it currently occupies is provided on a long lease to the school by the University.

Bolton University says that the additional land necessary to expand the school is also being made available on a similar peppercorn rents lease.

It was given its current name in September 2020 when it reopened as a “free school” and began accepting pupils at age 11 as part of the Keys Federation Academy Trust, now known as QUEST.

This was intended at the time to help meet the growing need for school places across the town.

If approved, the new building will be located to the south of Deane Road, to the southwest of Bolton town centre, and will help the school to accommodate this wider range of age groups.

The plan will see a new building constructed to the south of the main school site

According to the plans, the new building will be linked to the existing school by a first-floor corridor and will extent to a maximum of four stories.

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The area is already heavily associated with education with sites including the University of Bolton, the existing UCS Bolton building, Bolton Sixth Form College and Bolton College.

The plan will be open for neighbourhood consultations for people living nearby on Deane Road, Chorley New Road and Evesham Close until May 15.