Collegiate House Project

April 2023

Al-Islamia Trust currently offers Early Years’ and Primary School education within an Islamic environment in the heart of Leicester City. The Trust operates on 5-7 Evington Street, and has an ever-growing waiting list of pupils. Collegiate House was purchased by the Trust in February 2020 to meet the needs of our growing waiting list.  Our primary aim is to increase the existing pre-school provision for toddlers and children aged 3-5, and extend the primary education from 85 to at least 120 pupils. 

Ensuring that the site is available, ready and safe to use comprises of three key processes: 

• Application to the council to change the use of the building from office use to education.  The application must include a heritage statement and proposed plans for transport, the building and the site. 
• Ensuring that all materials to implement proposed plans are approved by the Heritage Department 
• Proving to the Department for Education and Ofsted that the site is safe for children to use 

Process 1: 

Since receiving the title deeds in February 2021, we have been working on the application to change the use of the building from offices and education, to schooling. The process included working with consultants to provide statements and plans – proposed and existing – for the entire site. 

We continue to maintain the site and pay the monthly business rates, which accrues ongoing costs. 

To date our costs have been as follows: 

Processes 2 and 3: 

The second two processes will run in tandem.  

Process 2 will be split into two stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2. Following Stage 1, we will complete Process 3 and then move up to 2 primary-school classes to the Collegiate House site.  

Thereafter, the schedule and costing for Stage 2 will be collected and implemented. Upon completion of this second stage, additional primary school classes will move to Collegiate House. 

All proposed works have been kept to a minimum to keep costs down and to allow the works to proceed quickly. The costs and schedule for completing Stage 1 are as follows: 

Much of the work will take place by different contractors, and therefore there will be multiple works completed at the same time. As a result, we are suggesting that Stage 1 will require a maximum of 14 weeks from the start date. 

We hope to begin works by the end of April 2023, following approval from the Heritage Department. This would result in completion of works as we bring the school year to an end. 

Throughout July and August 2023, we will gather bids to understand the scope of the works for Stage 2. Following approval from the Heritage Department, we are hoping to begin these works by mid-October 2023. The particulars for Stage 2 are: 

Contributions 

Abu Hurairah narrates that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Every good deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied manifold. A good deed will be multiplied ten times up to as many as seven hundred times, or as much as Allah wills.” 

It is also narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: “When a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased).” 

Through the generosity and kindness of our community, we have paid off £217,853.30 from the costs to date. We currently have a debt of £823,773.93. In addition, we have projected costs of just over £170,000.00 to complete the works outlined in Stage 1. 

We are urging our school community, and the community at large – in Leicester and across the UK – to help us raise these vital funds to improve the schooling opportunities for our future. We have multiple contribution methods, all of which can be accessed here. 

There are also tasks that need to be completed which would require voluntary support from our community. This includes, but is not limited to: 

• Installing shelving (we will need proof of skill to meet health and safety guidance)