It would be cheaper in the long run to demolish and rebuild a large secondary school in Swadlincote, than to keep repairing it, its chairman of governors has said.

William Allitt School, in Sunnyside, Newhall, needs around £10 million spending on repairs, which are ongoing and likely to cost even more as time goes on.

Meanwhile, the cost of completely rebuilding it is thought to range from £17 million to £25 million, it has emerged.

Steve Frost, who became chairman of governors at the school, which has almost 1,000 pupils, four years ago when it was put into special measures, says that it would be a better use of taxpayers' money to knock the school down and start again, rather than keep "putting on plasters".

And Derbyshire County Council says it is currently in talks with central government "to secure funding for the rebuilding or redevelopment" of the 945-pupil school, which was built in the 1960s.

The county council cabinet member who oversees services for young people, Councillor Alex Dale, said that the authority is "disappointed" and "frustrated" about the ongoing situation at William Allitt and the task of finding money for sufficient repairs.

Councillor Dale says that two years worth of the county's entire schools repair budget would be required to rebuild the building.

Mr Frost said: "The school itself, like many others, has outlived its intended shelf life.

William Allitt, in Newhall, is in need of a lot of repairs

"It really just needs rebuilding - a school of this age has outlived its use, but we are at an impasse at the moment.

"There is no funding for schools except free schools, and that isn't going to change any time soon.

"So the county council says it is in talks with the government to source funding but there just isn't a pot of money out there to build a new school here.

"My remit, as chairman of governors, is to make sure that the school is fit for purpose – especially as far as safeguarding and health and safety are concerned. But to keep spending money on repairs, is that the best use of the public's money? I don't think so.

"If you look at this from a taxpayer's point of view, it makes more sense to rebuild the school and save money in the long run."

The school was rated inadequate by Ofsted inspectors in 2014 and put into special measures and has spent much of the last decade under the close scrutiny of the education watchdog.

It improved sufficiently in 2016 to be rated "requires improvement". Mr Frost says the school is continuing to improve.

Councillor Dale said: "The condition of William Allitt School is of great concern to Derbyshire County Council, and we are frustrated and disappointed that we haven't been able to secure the funding we need to rebuild the school.

"The school is required to become an academy and yet, despite our best efforts over the past two years to support this process, no academy trust has come forward to become the sponsor for the school. The condition of the school and associated costs have been the primary factors in this.

"The council has invested almost £2 million in the upkeep of the school since 2010, but we do not have the funds to replace the entire school site, which we estimate would cost around £21 million.

"To put this in perspective, we receive a total of £10 million each year from Government to fund repairs to all of our schools. Rebuilding the school would require us to devote more than two years of this funding to this one project, at the exclusion of all other schools in the county.

"We made a bid for the money needed to rebuild William Allitt School to the Government's Priority School Building Programme in 2016, but that was unsuccessful in spite of a strong business case.

"We have raised the issues the school is facing with Education and Skills Funding Agency and the Secretary of State for Education.

"The council is extremely disappointed that everyone connected with the school has had to contend with the deteriorating condition of the school on a daily basis.

"Our priority is to ensure that children who attend William Allitt School have the safe and inspiring learning environment they need to achieve their full potential.

"In spite of the condition of the school, the last Ofsted visit in 2017 noted rapid improvements that are being made by the head teacher and her staff to raise achievement and standards across the school.

"We will continue to engage with the Government and the ESFA, as well as with the regional schools commissioner and multi-academy trusts, with the aim of finding a solution."

Mr Frost's statements regarding William Allitt's repairs backlog come after shock figures, obtained through a Derbyshire BBC Local Democracy Reporter Freedom of Information request, show that the schools overseen by Derbyshire County Council require a total of £150 million spending on repairs.

The authority only received £9.3 million from the Government via the ESFA to plug this gap.

South Derbyshire's MP Heather Wheeler said: "I have been in correspondence with the relevant Government Minister, Lord Agnew, about the William Allitt school and its need for specific funding to address the problems it has with both its buildings and infrastructure. I have been pressing for a meeting with the Minister so that he realises how important this issue is for residents in Newhall and I will continue to do so."

The county council says the amount of money being given to the authority annually is falling year-on-year as more county schools convert to academies.

They are run independently of local authorities so councils do not get any money for them from central government.

The authority maintains 326 out of the county's 416 schools, nurseries and pupil referral units.

There are now 71 academy schools, with a further 19 going through the conversion process.

The county council prioritises specific areas for school maintenance – such as roof replacement, heating system repairs, and window and door renovations – through its County Asset Management Plan (AMP), depending on urgency.

This year it has approved spending on 64 school maintenance projects which total £1.1 million.

Over the past 12 months, around 195 school repair and maintenance projects have been approved by the county council.