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A council has approved plans to rebuild a secondary school where conditions have been described as "not acceptable for children of this day and age".

Greenfield Academy in Newton Aycliffe provides education for students in years seven to 11 and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The rebuild will begin this September and the site will be ready to welcome pupils back in 2025.

Durham County Council said the plans were "critical" for the long-term future of the school.

It has partnered with local construction firm Kier Group to submit the application.

A new three-storey teaching block will be built in the car park to the north of the current school, and just two existing teaching areas and the sports centre will be kept.

The development, which is expected to take about two years, is phased to enable teaching in the existing buildings to continue while the replacement buildings are constructed on-site.

Following the construction of the new buildings, the pupils and staff will relocate to the new site and most of the existing buildings will be demolished.

Student numbers will remain at 676.

'Critical'

The council said: "The existing blocks to be demolished have reached the end of their design life and the replacement will facilitate a more functional, welcoming and efficient layout for the school’s everyday operations and needs.

"The application is critical in enabling the delivery of the proposals for Greenfield Academy and securing the long-term future of the school."

Councillor Michael Stead, of Aycliffe North and Middridge, said a new build for the school was "well overdue".

"When I first became a councillor I walked that site and the amount of single-pane windows and heating issues was horrendous," he said.

"There were temporary buildings put outside, with classrooms in portacabins. It’s just not acceptable for children of this day and age to be in a school like that."

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