THE new primary school due to be built in Okehampton next year will be run by the church authorities, it has been announced.

The Diocese of Exeter will sponsor the new St James’ Church of England Primary School in close partnership with Okehampton Primary School and Okehampton College.

Parents in the town are now being invited to apply for places for their children at the free school academy which is due to open next September.

The school, a second primary school for the town, will serve the new estates being built to the east of Okehampton.

Director of education for the Diocese of Exeter John Searson said: ‘I am thrilled that the new school will join the wider Church of England family of schools.

‘Our partnership with Okehampton Primary School and the wider Dartmoor Federation (soon to become the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust) will deliver excellence from the start and we look forward to welcoming our first pupils!’

Work is due to start building the new school on land owned by Devon County Council north of Crediton Road early in the New Year.

It will have places for 210 children initially and potential to accommodate 440 children as more housing is built.

The diocese says that the new school will offer ‘an ambitious, creative and challenging curriculum’ to include outdoor activities on Dartmoor ‘to develop pupils’ character, self-discipline and resilience’.

While the new school is to have a ‘distinct Christian ethos’ it will also be ‘open, inclusive, welcoming and nurturing to children of all faiths and world views’, a spokesman said.

The closing date for the Devon County Council admissions process for next September is officially January 15 but this has been relaxed to allow applications for a reception place at the new school to be submitted after that date. There will be a series of open meetings in January and February to give more information about the school and what it offers.

The news that the diocese’s application to sponsor the school has been successful has been welcomed by the other schools in Okehampton.

Okehampton Primary School headteacher Hazel Fox said: ‘We are delighted with the decision to establish the new school as a Church of England school and we look forward to working with the Diocese of Exeter to ensure that every child gets the best possible education and experiences. It was always important to us that we could provide a local solution to the increasing demand for school places and this will enable us to build on the excellent track record of Okehampton Primary School in serving local families.’

Daryll Chapman, executive principal of Dartmoor Federation, said: ‘This is a great decision for Okehampton which recognises the strength of our local partnerships. We will now continue to work closely together to establish a school in which only the best is good enough and of which the community can be proud.’

Devon County Councillor for Okehampton Rural, Kevin Ball, said: ‘After several years and a lot of work by both Devon County Council and members of the community, Devon County Council recently secured the site and provided the opportunity for the new school to be built. I am now delighted that the contract for providing learning in the new primary school has been awarded to the Diocese of Exeter in partnership with Okehampton Primary School and the Dartmoor Federation.

‘The existing primary school has needed relief for a while now, and although they have done very well supporting learning with the youngsters, this new school will take pressure off classroom sizes. It will also provide a very local solution to the new houses on the east of the town. The new partnership gives an exciting new way of delivering education for our community. I offer many congratulations and wish success to the new providers.’

The county council invited tenders to establish a free school, known as academies, earlier in the year, as now required by law whenever a new state school is deemed to be needed in a community.

It received three proposals, from the Diocese of Exeter, the Red Kite Academy Trust, involving Devon Wildlife Trust with an emphasis on environmental education, and the United Schools Trust, which already runs a free school in Kingsteignton.