New school given the go ahead for up to 200 pupils in Northampton

A Christian charity will use an empty office building to run a school for up to 200 pupils after receiving planning permission from West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

Technology House, off Hunsbury Hill Avenue, Northampton will be used by Spectre Education.

The charity runs a number of private schools to promote the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, including one in Billing Road East in Northampton, which can educate up to 30 pupils.

That school will close and pupils will move with the opening of the new school site. The charity said its current site is too small and does not allow for any growth.

Sceptre Education is part of the OneSchool Global organisation that was set up for students and families of the church community. The organisation said that while the schools are there to educate its members, “no religious studies or daily acts of worship” take place and they exist solely “for delivery of education within the national curriculum”.

Residents complained that the move could result in a “log jam of cars” before and after the school day in the residential area.

But the authority found it will have “no adverse impact on the character and appearance of the area, the amenities of adjoining occupiers nor on highway and pedestrian safety…and would provide a suitable educational environment for future students”.