Fresh hope for Paignton’s ‘school that time forgot’

'The government has been sitting on its hands, and that is not acceptable'

Children having lessons in temporary classrooms at the ‘school that time forgot’ have been given a date when it will finally be finished.

But Torbay’s Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling has pledged to chase the government to make sure it keeps its promise.

He raised the problems faced by St Michael’s Church of England Academy in Paignton in written questions to the education minister.

He said: “It really is the school that time forgot. The government has been sitting on its hands, and that is not acceptable.

“The staff and the children need to see a clear way forward. They need the proper school they were promised.”

The bay’s newest primary school has been teaching pupils since 2021 and sailed through its first Ofsted inspection with a ‘good’ rating, but temporary classrooms are being used while work continues on its main historic building.

The school is on the site of the former Marist Convent in Fisher Street, where tennis star Sue Barker was once a pupil. A Grade Two listed building, it dates back to the nineteenth century when it was built by Henry John Bailey, who was responsible for Bailey’s Emporium in nearby Totnes Road.

It was sold to the Marist Sisters in 1908 and became a convent school, which was extended in the 1930s to include a gym. The convent school closed in 1982 and it became another school known as Tower House.

Work to convert it into St Michael’s began in 2020 under Midas Construction, but stopped when the company collapsed in 2022. Since then work has been delayed by further problems in the construction industry.

Mr Darling tabled questions asking when the government planned to appoint a contractor to work on the site, and what the planned timeline is for the completion of the rebuild.

Education minister Stephen Morgan replied: “We are aiming to enter a contract later this year and are currently on track.

“The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.”

Mr Darling said the minister’s answer was not good enough, and he would press for a firmer commitment.

“They had Midas go bust, and they had a second contractor go bust, and they still haven’t got their school,” he said. “Twelve months ago another contractor was in the wings ready to take over and deliver the school, but it hasn’t happened.

“Paignton is the poorest town in Devon, and these schools have got some real challenges. To inflict a school that is run from temporary classrooms on the people there is utterly shameful.”

The Department for Education has been invited to comment.