Pupils and parents are to be among those consulted on options for Ilkley Grammar School which is in the final stage of Bradford’s massive refurbishment and rebuilding programme.

Education officials will be holding a series of public meetings to ask people involved with Ilkley Grammar – governors, trustees, staff and the wider community – about what they would like to see in their revamped or new buildings.

The school is one of 13 in phase three of the district’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project and consultations are being held throughout March.

This phase will cost about £205 million in all and includes plans to develop a new social emotional and behavioural difficulties school on a site yet to be determined, and a communication and interaction school on the site of Thorn Park in Bradford. A further £32m will also be invested in information communication technology (ICT).

Plans have already been approved to rebuild Nab Wood School and options about how to expand the successful and over-subscribed Ilkley Grammar and Bingley Grammar will be considered.

The Ilkley Grammar meetings are scheduled as follows: Addingham, Friday, March 13, 7 to 9pm, Memorial Hall, Main Street; Ilkley, Thursday, March 19, 7 to 9pm, Clarke Foley Centre, Cunliffe Road; and Wednesday, March 25, 2pm, Winter Garden, Station Road; Menston, Friday, March 27, 7 to 9pm, Kirklands Community Centre, Main Street; and Burley-in-Wharfedale, Thursday, April 2, 7 to 9pm, Queens Hall, Main Streeet.

A public drop-in session about all schools in phase three will be held in the Banqueting Suite, City Hall, Bradford, on Tuesday, March 31, from 2 to 5pm.

Addingham councillor Michael Kelly, the council’s executive member for services to children and young people, said: “Schools in the final stage of this huge programme now have the opportunity to come up with their vision of their new or refurbished buildings.

“Everyone affected by the transformation will be consulted, and the schools will carry out these consultations throughout March.

“All suggestions will be considered before preferred options are chosen.”

The three realistic options for Ilkley Grammar are: expansion on the existing but limited Cowpasture Road site, a new school built on land at Coutances Way close to Wheatley Lane, and a split site using the former middle school on Valley Drive as a sixth form college.

The school has already announced that it is in favour of moving from its present location to a larger site in the town.

The Gazette believes on good authority that the intention is to increase the capacity of the school from its present 1,300 pupils to 1,900.

Fears that the recession could scupper the privately financed expansion project have been eased by a Government announcement that it is prepared to offer emergency loans. Bradford’s £400m BSF project has yet to secure funding and could apply for help.

Treasury Chief Secretary Yvette Cooper said lending taxpayers’ money to struggling PFI projects would protect £13 billion of public investment in infrastructure projects.

Miss Cooper said: “The Government believes it is vital to get these infrastructure projects under way as swiftly as possible - to support jobs and the economy this year as well as delivering important public services.”