A DEVON MP has said she is “buzzing” because of what she sees as genuine progress over a prospective rebuild of Tiverton High School.

Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat, Tiverton and Minehead), expressed the positive stance after recent updates surrounding the school, which was apparently promised a rebuild before the turn of the millennium.

Ms Gilmour said she had now spoken to senior government officials who are directly involved with the government’s school rebuilding programme, which involves pledges to rebuild 518 schools nationally, with an extension announced last year to add a further 250.

“We now have a full project team and a manager involved, and I don’t think they would waste their time if they weren’t truly looking at it,” she said.

She said she had repeatedly lobbied the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson and now was in contact with Josh MacAlister, a minister at the Department for Education, about the project.

Ms Gilmour added that given the cross-party support for the schools rebuilding programme, she was “almost certain” Tiverton High School would get the go-ahead for a rebuild.

She stated so-called pre-feasibility work was being undertaken to assess what type of outcome could be achieved and whether the government would “have blocks refurbished or [the school] rebuilt in entirety”.

It’s understood the Department for Education is working with Devon County Council on this initial phase, before the government department takes complete ownership of the project.

If an expansion is sought, it’s understood the government could ask the county council to contribute financially. Both Ms Gilmour and Devon County Council are understood to believe the school should be capable of accommodating 1,800 pupils.

That’s above its existing capacity of 1,400 and current crop of 1,118 students, according to official government data.

“As much as I welcome a comprehensive pre-feasibility assessment to ensure the DfE correctly determines the extent of the rebuild, the state of the school buildings is dire and has been for over 20 years,” she said.

“This situation is unsustainable and the young people and families of Tiverton deserve so much better.”

Ms Gilmour acknowledged the constraints with the school site, which is on a flood plain, but did not want this to hold back ambition for any prospective rebuild.

“I want something that doesn’t flood and is not riddled with asbestos,” she said.

“It should be fit for purpose and be somewhere constituents feel their children are getting the best education, and that the school infrastructure isn’t substandard, like it is now, which impacts the children’s education and psychology,” Ms Gilmour said.

The MP said the school’s sports hall often had to be closed down if its internal walls were damaged to carry out safety inspections, and that children were taught in communal areas, including the refectory.

It’s understood Tiverton High School, which opened in 1900, was first promised a rebuild in 1999 and placed on the then-Labour government’s priority list but funding was later withdrawn.

The last estimate for urgent repairs in 2019 was £14 million, according to Ms Gilmour’s office.