Government bosses have selected the design for a new permanent building at Folkestone's newest secondary school.

Turner Free School (TFS) have today released new images of how the main school building could look once constructed.

It comes after the school opened to its first Year 7 cohort last September.

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Pupils, who currently study in the fully refurbished former Pent Valley Leisure Centre building, will be able to make use of state-of-the-art facilities once it is built, including a lecture theatre.

School chiefs anticipate that this will allow pupils to learn in a ‘university style’ for some of the time, in preparation for further education.

The Department for Education (DfE) have agreed the vision for the facility on Tile Kiln Lane, which is run by the Turner Schools Trust.

There will also be modern design technology spaces, which Turner Schools plans to use to support budding designers and engineers. The plans also include new sporting facilities, including a new multi-use games area and a new full-size pitch for football and hockey.

In addition, the new building will have space for dedicated dining facilities, so staff and students can sit down and eat lunch together.

Turner Free School on its opening day in September 2018

Dr Jo Saxton, CEO of Turner Schools, said: "I am delighted that the DfE is so committed to investing in Folkestone, and we’re excited to reach the next stage of development for our new building. The Turner Free School has already got off to a flying start and we are oversubscribed for the second year running.

“Ms Yates and her team are delivering a powerful education – it is truly first-rate, and it’s wonderful that our new school building will now match that quality. There is still some way to go, but this is a crucial step forward. Our students are thrilled with the plans so far and can’t wait for construction to get started.”

Kristina Yates, principal of Turner Free School, said: "This is a really positive step towards our permanent building.

"Everyone at Turner Free School is excited by the plans and really looking forward to moving into our new home.

“I am so proud of the work we’ve already done to establish excellent teaching and a strong culture for learning at our existing school site, but the new building will help us take this to the next level and ensure that even more scholars receive the powerful education they deserve.”

Pupils, parents and the community are also being given a preview of the proposals today.

The school, based at the former Pent Valley site, became the first new secondary school in the town for a decade when it inducted its first 120 pupils last year. Dr Saxton revealed at that time the school also has the green light for the new building for September 2020.

Although a non-selective school, the centre strives to offer a 'grammar-style education' for 11 to 18-year-olds.

The overall capacity was originally due to be 720, but this has now increased to 1080 once full, including Sixth Formers. Around 260 applications were received for the 120 places on offer for the last academic year. There will be an intake of 180 pupils this September.

Turner Schools already runs two primary schools in Folkestone – Martello Academy and Morehall Academy – which they say will act as 'feeders' for the new secondary.

Their bid was one of two submitted to the government to take over the Pent Valley site, the other from Swale Academies Trust, headed up by Kent 'superhead' Jon Whitcombe who was brought in to run Pent Valley after previous head Mario Citro was removed from his position in April 2015.

It followed a Kent County Council (KCC) inspection after poor exam results the previous summer.

The trust's bid focused on forging links with major employers in the town such as Holiday Extras, EDF Energy, Saga and Eurotunnel and specialising in modern foreign languages.

KCC announced in December 2015 it was planning to close Pent Valley amid rising debts and falling pupil numbers.

Parents and pupils protested in Folkestone and outside County Hall in Maidstone against the announcement but its fate was sealed in March 2016 when KCC councillors voted to formally close the school in the summer of 2017 after Year 11 and 13 pupils complete their GCSEs and post-16 qualifications, respectively.

Legal action was launched to review KCC's process of announcing the closure but the judicial review failed to get to the steps of the High Court.

In April 2017, then education secretary Justine Greening announced 131 new schools across the country would create 69,000 places with 27 new schools in the south east with 15,000 places.

But in August 2017, the free school budget was slashed by £280 million in order to fund a £1.3bn investment in core schools funding and increasing money per pupil.

It meant that 30 of the 140 free schools awaiting approval, which the government aimed to introduce, would revert back to local authority control, but the Turner Academy project was not at risk.

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