Options to rebuild a Cleckheaton school on a new site - rather than refurbish the existing building - will be put to an early meeting of Kirklees Council's Cabinet.

The 200-pupil Whitcliffe Road First and Nursery School in Cleckheaton is in serious need of replacement and rebuilding and has been for some time, according to the Cabinet member for education, Councillor John Smithson.

"While refurbishment of the present building is an option, this is far from ideal given the nature of the building, the small overall size of the site, and the constraints that would involve," he said. "Two sites for relocating and rebuilding the school have been identified and feasibility studies carried out. One is a council-owned site at Rawfolds, and the other land adjacent to Hills Office Supplies, which the owners are prepared to release.

"It is important that we grasp the opportunities available as soon as possible, hence the need to get an early decision on the options." He said that relocating the school on St Peg Lane had also been suggested, but the site was only partly-owned by the council and the owner of the remainder of it was unwilling to release the land.

"This rules it out as an option as it would take some years to put the site together," he said. "We need to take a decision in the near future for the sake of everybody in-volved in the school - the children, the staff, the parents and the Governing Body."