Tipton St John to get new school

There's concerns around flooding at its current site

The village of Tipton St John in East Devon is to get a new primary school after concerns about flooding at its current site.

Built in 1843, Tipton St John Primary consists of two separate buildings, a lower site for younger pupils, and an upper facility for older students. Around 95 pupils currently attend the school.

However, the school has been hit by flooding in the past, with pupils even being evacuated due to the severity.

Such is the school’s susceptibility to future flooding, the Environment Agency and the Department for Education have warned that lives could be at risk.

Back in 2014, the agency published a report detailing the risks posed to the school by the Metcombe Stream and the River Otter. It stated that damage to the buildings “cannot be avoided.”

In January 2021, plans to relocate the school while building 150 new homes near Barrack Road in Ottery St Mary were rejected.

But Conservative MP for East Devon, Simon Jupp, continued to campaign for the current school to be replaced as part of the government’s school rebuilding programme.

Initially, buildings in poor conditions were given priority by the government when deciding which schools to granted funding to, but flood risks were added to the latest stage of the rebuilding scheme.

This scheme has run since 2020, and the latest stage saw over a thousand schools nominated as recipients of the funding. The programme ends in 2030, by which time the government plans to have either rebuilt or refurbished 500 schools.

Tipton St John is one of 239 schools to be given funding for the latest phase of the scheme.

Organisers say the new school is set to better fulfil the increasing volume of pupils in need of a place of education.

Devon County Councillor Jessica Bailey (Independent, Otter Valley) labelled previous decisions not to give funding to Tipton St John “absurd,” but is pleased that the school is finally being relocated from the flooding hotspot.

“I’m delighted that the government has finally agreed to fund the rebuilding of Tipton St John Primary School,” she said. “After more than a decade of campaigning by myself and my predecessor as Tipton’s Devon County councillor Claire Wright, Colin Butler headteacher and Richard Power from the Diocese, and the wider community, the government has listened at long last.

“It always seemed absurd to me that despite the established ‘risk to life’ from flooding, time and time again Tipton St John school was overlooked in previous funding rounds.”

Cllr Bailey has herself visited the school, and she described the extent of the flooding she saw as well as the escape procedure that was being practised by “children as young as four and five.”

“I saw myself first hand the risks of flooding in October 2021 when after heavy rain the school was surrounded by lakes of water and water was lapping at the doors of the buildings.”

“I have witnessed children as young as four and five practising their escape drill with a rope across the road to prevent children being swept away in the riding waters.”

Mr Jupp described Tipton St John headteacher Colin Butler as a “hero” for the efforts he has put into the school, and he intends to be closely involved in the development of the school’s replacement facility.

“This is fantastic news and I’d like to thank everyone involved, particularly Devon County Council, the Diocese of Exeter, and Tipton St John’s headteacher Colin Butler, who retires this week,” he added. “Colin is a local hero for all of his efforts to ensure children will finally get a new state-of-the-art school to replace Tipton St John Primary School.”

Devon County Council leader Cllr John Hart (Conservative, Bickleigh and Wembury) paid tribute to Mr Jupp for helping to push the proposal through.

“I am delighted with the news today that this school is finally going to be rebuilt,” he said, adding Mr Jupp has “lobbied tirelessly for this project since becoming the MP for the area, it is a great result for the school, staff, children and local community.”

Devon County Council’s cabinet member for children’s services and schools, Andrew Leadbetter (Conservative, Wearside and Topsham), confirmed that the location for the new school has not yet been decided and that “full details will be worked on going forward.”

Mr Jupp added that, since the new site has not been decided, there is no timeframe for the completion of the project.