A TEACHER-led academy trust has applied to set up a new primary school to serve nearly 1,000 new homes being built in North Yorkshire.

The Ebor Academy Trust is made up of four schools in York, with a fifth due to open soon, and wants to establish the Sowerby Gateway Community Primary Academy, which will open in September 2018.

The school will serve the 925 home Sowerby Gateway development near Thirsk, which is still under construction.

Ebor’s executive headteacher Richard Ludlow said: “Data supplied by North Yorkshire County Council shows the need for an additional 20 primary school places a year for ten years.

“We believe, therefore, that this is an exciting opportunity for a new school to be built which could replicate one of our existing primary schools rated ‘outstanding’ by school inspectors Ofsted.

“If our application is successful, the Sowerby Gateway Community Primary Academy will offer a broad and balanced curriculum, additional enrichment activities and the new school will play a full and collaborative role in our group, where we support and challenge each other so as to achieve the best outcomes for our pupils.

“At the same time we want to work closely with other schools in the area and become an integral part of Sowerby and Thirsk’s family of schools.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire County Council said setting up a new school to accommodate the rise in primary-aged children in the area had emerged as the most preferable option, stating: “We carried out our own consultation into additional education provision in this area and a new school emerged as the preferred option.

“Ebor Academy Trust, which is an organisation we know and have worked well with in setting up a new school in similar circumstances in Selby, has expressed an interest in sponsoring a new school in Sowerby which would meet the need for extra school places in this area.

“The site for the new school would be provided by developers, together with a financial contribution, expected to exceed £2m, towards building and equipping the school. The advantage for the county council if a bid is successful is that the rest of the cost of building the school would be funded by central government, not from the county council’s own resources.”

Ebor has set up a website, www.sowerbygatewayproposal.org, to explain their proposals in more detail and invite expressions of interest from parents, as well as comments on plans. Parents can also attend a public meeting on September 14 prior to the application being submitted at the end of the month.