A DARWEN school could, in September, almost triple the number of pupils it started with, having been established only three years ago.

Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio opened in 2013 inside Darwen Aldridge Community Academy with 71 youngsters before moving into its current base in Police Street in January 2015. The school now has 120 pupils.

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Following an influx of applications, principal Ruth Bradbury said she is now confident that there will be 200 children for the new school year in September.

Mrs Bradbury said that the applications had largely come from youngsters wanting to study more vocational subjects such as creative digital media, which she said are less readily available at other schools.

She said: “It seems to be that the subjects we offer that are slightly different from other schools' is what is drawing people in. For example, the childcare option is something you do not get in a lot in other schools and we have a lot of applications coming in for creative digital media.

“This is our biggest influx of applications so far and with the amount that are coming in I am expecting we will reach the 200 mark. It is incredible how much we have grown, having only been in our independent building for a year.”

The school, which is now in the site of the former Model Lodging House, offers specialist pathways in business and law and health, social and childcare along with creative digital media which are studied after pupils take traditional GCSEs such as English, maths and science.

Youngsters can do a work placement, every week, that is in line with their study pathway or their interests.

Mrs Bradbury said that it is extremely positive that at a time when youngsters are encouraged to perform well in English, maths, humanities and the sciences that more creative and practical subjects are becoming popular.

She said: “A lot of schools are having pressure put on them to make sure students take these subjects into higher levels but they are not for everyone. I am glad that what we offer is being seen as equally beneficial.”

Darwen MP Jake Berry said: “This is great news. It is brilliant to have such great educational facilities in the centre of Darwen.”

A DARWEN school could almost triple the amount of students it started with in September after only being established three years ago.

The Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio opened in 2013 inside Darwen Aldridge Community Academy with just 71 students before moving into its current base in Police Street in January 2015. The school now has 120 students.

Following an influx of applications, principal Ruth Bradbury said she is now confident that there will be 200 students for the new school year in September.

Mrs Bradbury said that the applications had largely come from young people wanting to study more vocational subjects such as creative digital media, subjects she said are less readily available at other schools.

She said: “It seems to be that the subjects we offer that are slightly different to other schools is what is drawing people in.

“For example the childcare option is something you don’t get in a lot in other schools and we have a lot of applications coming in for creative digital media “This is our biggest influx of applications so far and with the amount that are coming in I am expecting we will reach the 200 mark.

“It is incredible how much we have grown having only been in our independent building for a year.”

The school, which is now in the site of the former Model Lodging House, offers specialist pathways in business and law and health, social and childcare along with creative digital media which are studied after pupils take traditional GCSE’s such as English, maths and science.

Students can also experience doing a work placement every week that is in line with their study pathway or their interests.

Mrs Bradbury said that it was extremely positive that at a time when students are encouraged to perform well in English, maths, humanities and the sciences that more creative and practical subjects are becoming popular.

She said: “A lot of schools are having pressure put on them to make sure students take these subjects into higher levels but they are not for everyone.

“I’m glad that what we offer is being seen as equally beneficial.”

Darwen MP Jake Berry said: “This is great news, its brilliant to have such great educational facilities in the centre of Darwen.”