A city grammar school is today unveiling ambitious £11 million expansion plans which would see the site dramatically transformed.

Barton Court is proposing an overhaul of its current layout to create an entirely new front entrance and car park to ease city centre congestion.

School bosses are to seek planning permission for a new hall, new canteen, six new classrooms, three new science labs and relocated tennis courts.

A key feature involves turning the school “back-to-front”, with pupils, staff, parents and visitors no longer accessing the site from Longport.

Instead, a new entrance and car park near Pilgrims Way will be designed to ease pressure on the city’s stifled ring-road system.

If approved, Barton Court’s scheme would create about 30 new grammar places per academic year.

Head teacher Kirstin Cardus said: “It has always been our longer term vision to not only improve the facilities available to our current students and future students of the school but also to increase the school’s capacity to provide an opportunity for more young people to access our outstanding educational provision.

“The school has been discussing with Kent County Council for some considerable time now about how the increasing demand for secondary education, in particular selective education, will be met in the Canterbury district.”

Last year Barton Court ditched controversial plans to relocate to a new site in Herne Bay.

It decided instead to focus on improving the infrastructure at the current site.

Now governors are to table the first phase of an £11 million transformation at a public exhibition early next month.

Karl Elliot, a partner at Canterbury-based Clague Architects, which is drawing up the proposals, says the school layout needs urgent improvement.

“We’re talking about making the school back-to-front,” he said.

“The current front of the school at Longport becomes the back, and a new front is created at what is now the back by Pilgrims Way.

“At the moment you have the main entrance leading to the old school building with a limited car park.

“Really, that building is unsuitable for purpose.

“The school needs purpose-built structures to meet modern standards.

“It’s an exciting project and unique opportunity for Canterbury.”

This radical approach would see pressure taken off the city centre’s stifled ring road system at peak traffic times, he added.

Ms Cardus confirmed the scheme would involve a “new entrance” and car parking.

“The car parking will provide enough car parking for staff and visitors and a bus drop-off point which will take a significant amount of traffic away from the main road,” she said.

“This, we believe, will reduce congestion outside the school at peak times but importantly improve the safety for our students.”

A public exhibition detailing the scheme will take place on Thursday, July 9, between 4pm and 7pm in the Barton Court school hall.