Crawley School set for long-awaited expansion after £6.84m funding approved
A Crawley secondary school is set to be expanded after West Sussex County Council approved £6.84 million in funding following more than five years of delays.
Last updated 9th Jan 2026
St Wilfrid’s Catholic School, in Southgate, has faced an urgent need for additional space since September 2020, when it began admitting extra pupils through so-called bulge classes due to a shortage of secondary school places in the town.
Plans to expand the school were submitted to Crawley Borough Council in 2022, but approval was delayed until August 2025 because of issues including water neutrality requirements.
The county council has now approved the use of Schools Basic Need funding to construct a two-storey extension with 14 new classrooms.
Headteacher Michael Ferry said the school was pleased to have finally reached this stage:
“To say that the process to get to where we are now has been frustrating is putting it mildly,” he said.
“Following this approval, we now move into the tendering stage for Phase 1 of the building, which will deliver seven classrooms that can be used while Phase 2 begins.”
Mr Ferry said timings were still to be confirmed but added that the school would be going out to tender imminently and he hoped the first phase could be completed without further delays.
West Sussex County Council has predicted the building work will be completed in early 2027, depending on contractor availability.
Discussions about expanding St Wilfrid’s into a six-form-entry school began in 2019. When bulge classes were first introduced, it was hoped the new building would be completed before the first intake reached Key Stage 4. That cohort is now in Key Stage 5.
Mr Ferry said water neutrality requirements had been a major obstacle.
“It is ironic that after finally meeting all of the requirements and gaining planning permission in August 2025, all water neutrality conditions were suspended just two months later,” he said.
He added that the school was operating at 99% capacity, with some class sizes increased due to a lack of teaching space.
“The new classrooms will give us greater flexibility across the curriculum and hopefully allow us to reduce class sizes in certain subjects and year groups,” he said.
Mr Ferry also praised staff for their efforts during the prolonged wait.
“During all of this time, the staff of St Wilfrid’s have worked tirelessly in coping with the demands of us being ‘full’ and their support has been phenomenal.
“Soon, hopefully very soon, they will be able to enjoy the extra space."