A SECONDARY school is proposing a major multi-million pound building project.

St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy in Duckworth Street, Blackburn, hopes to build a hall, two-storey kitchen and office block and create a multi-use games area.

A spokesman for the school for 1,500 11 to 18-year-olds described the project, the cost of which is expected to run into several million pounds, as ‘exciting’.

The academy has applied for planning permission for the scheme to Blackburn with Darwen Council.

It includes a new single-storey hall with a reception area and a two-storey extension to a school building to provide additional kitchen space with offices above.

The games area and lighting will be moved and upgraded to make way for the new development.

The new hall, with grey and red brick and silver metal cladding, includes a flexible space for lectures for 260 students and overspill dining for 300.

There will be no increase in staff or student numbers.

A St Wilfrid’s spokesman said: “Our new building project is exciting and will enhance both the functionality and aesthetic appeal of the academy.

“With the addition of the new block, a single-storey building on the south-west side, we will be providing a multi-purpose, single-space facility that will accommodate medium to large gatherings.

“This will be of significant use going forward, for example, in being used for assemblies, physical education programmes and lunchtime activities.

“We will naturally include this space as a further option for groups in the local community who are looking for spaces to rent for events, exhibitions, ceremonies and gatherings.

“Our second development will be to the west side of the campus and will see a two-storey extension added, as well as a single space for external storage and parking for the academy minibus.

“Internally we are delighted to improve our catering facilities, expanding their operations to allow for a more efficient system for providing lunches to our students.

“We will relocate some of our IT services, allowing for an expansion of the current Special Educational Needs spaces.”

The school was purpose-built in 2004.