THE Cranmer Education Trust has been successful in its application to open a new eight-form entry secondary school in Oldham town centre.

It has has now been approved by the Department for Education.

The Trust - which already runs Blue Coat, Mayfield Primary and East Crompton St George’s Primary schools, and which trains new teachers for both primary and secondary – already boasts what it says are "excellent education outcomes".

It says the new school would further cement its long-term commitment to the borough and local children and young people.

Julie Hollis, chief executive of The Cramner Education Trust, said: “This is something we have wanted to do for a long time and is great news for Oldham and for the Trust.

“Thank you to everyone for your support, especially Oldham Council, the Oldham Interfaith Forum, Manchester Diocesan Board of Education, our MPs, Action Together in Oldham, the Chai mums, all the staff, students and parents of the Cranmer Education Trust schools (Blue Coat, Mayfield and East Crompton St George’s) and all the parents and families who supported us through our website.

“Our focus now is ensuring that all Oldham children and young people have the opportunity of another great secondary school in the town centre. The priority is to finalise the site and there is, of course, a huge amount of preparatory work to do.

“We will keep you up to date on progress via our website, Facebook and Twitter. It has been a long hard slog to get to this point."

Blue Coat School in Oldham is the second most oversubscribed school in Greater Manchester and with the growth of the local pupil population, it is going to become even more difficult for families to get the school they want.

Oldham needs even more school places and the trust wants to make the Blue Coat offer open to a lot more children and families.

Oldham Council leader Sean Fielding said: “We are delighted to be working with the Cranmer Education Trust and fully support its proposals to build a new secondary school in the town centre.

“We’ve been impressed by their plans and their commitment to creating more places for our young people and the borough.

“Not only will they be building a state-of-the-art school, but they will also be helping us to meet the demand for school places.

“Year on year the Trust delivers excellent education outcomes here in Oldham, and this fits with our vision to raise attainment levels and standards across the borough.