The £31,500-a-year Highgate School wants to redevelop five sites across the north London neighbourhood over the next decade to modernise facilities and potentially add more pupils.
But the proposals, which were originally put forward in 2023, have met fierce resistance from residents and community groups.
They fear construction lorries will clog the narrow lanes for 10 years causing noise and pollution, and outsized buildings will loom over historic streets and residents’ gardens.
After years of consultation and workshops to address the row, the school – whose past pupils include actors Freddie Highmore and Jeremy Irons, poet John Betjeman, and cricketer Phil Tufnell – has submitted fresh plans.
They include:
. Refurbishing and extending the sixth form and music block Dyne House in Southwood Lane.
. Developing the school science block opposite including a new four storey building with a rooftop observatory.
. Demolishing the Richards music centre in Bishopswood Road and building a new two-and-a-half storey drama and performance centre.
. Partially demolishing and extending the Mallinson Sports Centre in Bishopswood Road to build a new double height sports hall, teaching classrooms, offices, gym, exercise studios, covered fives courts and sunken pitch.
Chair of The Highgate Society, Andrew Sulston, said the amendments haven’t gone far enough in addressing community concerns.
“While we appreciate Highgate School’s engagement with the community, the Highgate Society is disappointed that the revised plans show little meaningful change and do not address the serious concerns raised by residents and local groups at the public meeting in 2023,” he said.
“We remain committed to constructive dialogue and hope changes can still be made that benefit both the school and the wider community. We encourage everyone to respond to the revised planning applications as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for Highgate School said it was “proud to be part of the Highgate community” and consulting with residents and organisations on the plans was important to them.
They added: “We have submitted revised planning applications for improvements across our site as part of our long‑term estates strategy, which is focused on replacing ageing facilities to meet environmental standards and improve accessibility, whilst maintaining the size of the school.”
They said the 2024 meetings facilitated with the King’s Foundation allowed the community to hear from the head, architects, staff and project teams about the plans.
“Through this consultation process, a number of adaptations have been made, including the withdrawal of the Far Field proposals, a resequencing of the programme, revisions to the design and landscaping of the Mallinson Sport Centre, updates to the surface treatment of the Parade Ground (behind Dyne House) and retention of the existing plum trees within the Science Quad.
“We remain committed to dialogue with our neighbours and, should consent be granted, we will work closely with the community to minimise disruption during construction and to support shared priorities around traffic, transport and sustainability.”
The Highgate Society is urging residents to let Haringey Council know how they feel about the proposals before the deadline of February 21.
