The disused ground floor of a martial arts centre in Bury could soon be turned into an independent Islamic girl’s school.
If proposals are approved by Bury Council. Backers say the school at Khizra House on Lord Street would provide a ‘much-needed’ secondary school for the large local Muslim community in the area.
Many Muslim families are currently commuting up to nine miles to take their daughters to the nearest Islamic faith schools in Bolton, Rochdale, and North Manchester, according to the applicant.
Now Bury Academy intends to create classrooms right next to the Jamia Khizra Mosque for up to 100 local pupils. The school would take over the ground floor beneath the ‘well-respected’ martial arts centre and charity Bury Defence Academy, which has stood vacant since 2017.
If the ‘change of use’ application is successful, the school would teach year seven to year 11 from 8am to 3.15 on Mondays to Thursdays and 8am to 12.15 on Fridays.
In a report written by Sheila Wright Planning Ltd, Wright said: “Despite the presence of a large Muslim community in the town, there currently isn’t a local Muslim Girls Faith School available. This means that numerous parents are commuting to adjacent towns to find a school that matches their faith-based moral outlook.
“The proposed school will mean that girls can be educated in the heart of their local community.”
The planning documents indicate the school would make use of the nearby Openshaw Park ‘for outdoor recreation and learning’ and create a ‘flexible onsite playground’ that would revert to a car park outside of school hours.
Khizra House, which is owned by the mosque, was subject to a similar proposal for up to 120 students in 2024, but the application was withdrawn by the applicant. After talks with the council’s planning department, the owners have reduced the number of pupils to address concerns around traffic impacts.
Bury Academy also acquired a school bus to ferry kids to and from school to reduce car use, and has carried out a survey among prospective pupils, which shows most families plan to walk to school.
The Bury Defence Academy would continue to offer martial arts lessons between 6-9pm and on weekends, including a number of female-only exercise classes.
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