WORK starts soon on a new Islamic boys’ school site in Blackburn.

The Tauheedul Education Trust was given the green light for the 800-pupil free school on Sumner Street in Blackburn in September.

The building will provide a permanent home for the top-performing Tauheedul Boys High School, which has been temporarily housed on the former Blakewater College in Shadsworth Road since it opened in 2012.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has received another application regarding the site.

It is being developed by Wates Construction and in the planning report about demolition it said: “The project is currently at design stage with groundworks due to commence on March 16 2018”

Plans show that the new school will also include a multi-use games area, gym, sports hall, playground, car park places for 42 staff and visitor parking and also outdoor cricket nets and football pitches.

In the documents submitted to planners, there are also plans for roads signs warning motorists of a school and there will be a pedestrian crossing near the junction of Harrison Street and Sumner Street.

Last year, school bosses claimed that it would become an ‘impressive gateway’ to the town.

It was stated the “new facilities, building and surroundings seek to provide a world class and inspiring teaching and learning environment.

“The new school will provide accommodation for existing pupils and in addition will provide new sixth form places for further education needs.”

The school would cater for 600 year seven to 11 students and 200 sixth-formers, the same number as the current site.

It is being built on a former abattoir and cattle markets that have been demolished and have been cleared for several years.

Cllr Mohammed Khan, who represents the Wensley Fold ward, said it was an impressive scheme for the area.

He said: “It looks like a very pro-active scheme.

“It is very positive news for our area and and it will help to brighten up the site. They have obviously looked at other site and I think it will be a good thing.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Quesir Mahmood also thought it would be good news for the area.

He said: “The old cattle market has been a disused piece of land for years. We are trying to regenerate that area as part of the town centre.

“It is a good thing bringing it back into use and it is a school that has high levels of performance and that can only benefit the people who use it.”

Meanwhile, the Lancashire Telegraph recently reported that two of the Trust’s schools have retained their spots in the top three schools in England for pupil progress, as the DfE released revised secondary school performance data.

Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn has once again been ranked at the top of the performance league table for Progress 8, the Government’s headline performance measure that reflects the amount of progress pupils have made during their time at secondary school. TIGHS’ score of +1.81 places them in the number one spot of the table for the second consecutive year.

Also in Blackburn, Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School, with a Progress 8 measure of +1.55 has been ranked third in the country for pupil progress, again for the second year running.