Land to build a new home for the flood-hit Newman Catholic School has been secured on the edge of the Carlisle.

School leaders today confirm that the purchase of land at Blackwell has been agreed following months of complex negotiations.

The plot, around 12-13 acres of farmland, lies off Scalegate Road and is close to a new housing development being constructed by Story Homes.

The Cumberland News understands that completion of the complex land deal will lead to government funding being released for the scheme.

A new school building will cater for 700 pupils and ensure the continuation of Catholic secondary education in the city.

Parents and pupils were informed of the latest development late yesterday before schools across Cumbria break up for half term.

Delighted headteacher John McAuley says plans remain on course for the new school to be open in September 2019.

It will end more than two years of uncertainty.

Newman School was one of three city centre secondary schools which were flooded during Storm Desmond in December 2015.

Its Lismore Place site was submerged by floodwaters up to seven feet deep.

Support from the Department for Education was pledged following a visit by the then Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in January 2016.

Newman School is currently operating on its temporary site in Harraby after it was forced to relocate to the former Pennine Way Primary School in Silverdale Road.

Temporary classrooms and further adaptations were added to ensure the Harraby site can cater for secondary school pupils.

Mr McAuley said: "I am absolutely thrilled that, after a long period of negotiations, we have agreed on the purchase of the land for our new build.

"It is heartening that we start 2018 with some excellent news about the future of the school."

Completion of the land deal comes as Newman Catholic School celebrates some of its best exam results ever.

It is among the best performing schools in the county following the publication of new league tables recently.

School leaders, including the Diocese of Lancaster, and Cumbria County Council have been in negotiations for months with the plot's private landowner and the housing developer.

Cumbria County Council has provided £3m for the deal, which sees Story Homes waive a right it held to buy the land.

Catholic Bishop of Lancaster, Rt Rev Michael Campbell OSA, and chair of the Lancaster Diocesan Trustees, said he was "very happy" that the site had been purchased.

He said: "I add, too, how the Diocese is very grateful for the support received so far from Cumbria County Council and others too - for this new build project which is a great investment in our young people and those who form them."

Retired headteacher Andy Abernethy is chair of governors at Newman School.

He said: "It is with great relief that we are finally able to celebrate reaching this significant staging post on our way to an exciting future for Newman Catholic School.

"It is the news we have all been waiting for and secures the financial support from the government which we need to complete the project.

"We can now go full steam ahead to realise our plans. All members of the school and wider communities of Carlisle will soon be able to enjoy the fantastic facilities our new school will bring to this developing area of the city."

The site for the new Newman School lies in the centre of the proposed area for the St Cuthbert's Garden Village, which could see the expansion of the south western swathes of the city over the next 30 years.

Up to 10,000 new homes and associated infrastructure are promised as part of the ambitious plans to transform the area between the M6 and the A595 at Wigton Road.

Newman School's announcement comes as designer Wayne Hemingway pays a visit to the city. His firm HemingwayDesign is involved in the early stages of masterplanning for the Garden Village proposals.

Newman School is currently in special measures after failing an Ofsted inspection in March last year.