Funding hopes Bid for £1m to create ‘carbon neutral’ space
INFANT and junior buildings at a Cheltenham school could be replaced with a new building as part of a multi-million pound project.
Warden Hill Primary School, rated excellent by Ofsted, had already had a funding promise of more than £5.5m to expand by one form of entry and to improve the condition of the school.
But now, Gloucestershire County Council is being asked to approve an extra £1m to fund a replacement building for the Durham Close school instead.
Population forecasts show that more primary places are not needed as soon as was thought, so the council is looking to tackle the issue surrounding the state of the buildings.
And investigations have shown that it would be more efficient to replace the existing infant and junior classrooms with a new building that would be a sustainable building in line with council commitments to become carbon neutral by 2030.
It says better facilities will offer more flexibility for teaching and learning and if the school needs to be expanded in the future, the new design will allow for this to happen in a more efficient way.
Work could begin next year - subject to planning permission - and the school will continue to run to ensure there is no disruption to pupils’ learning.
Councillor Patrick Molyneux, cabinet member for economy, education, and skills, said: “Warden Hill is already an outstanding school but the current buildings don’t provide the excellent learning environment that all pupils deserve to be educated in.
“This significant investment of over £6.5 million is just part of our £100 million project to improve schools across Gloucestershire.”
Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the funding needed for a replacement school building at Warden Hill Primary at its next meeting on November 11.
The cabinet will also be asked to approve an extra £2.25million for the new special school in Brockworth, taking the total investment to £9.75 million.
Contractors have been appointed and detailed site surveys have been done, more funding is needed to address ground and drainage issues at the site and for new services to be connected
The additional investment will also cover more work on the design of the building to make sure it is carbon neutral, and will also support improvements to Henley Bank High School’s sports facilities in exchange for the land for the school.
Warden Hill is already an outstanding school but the current buildings don’t provide the excellent learning environment that all pupils deserve to be educated in.
Councillor Patrick Molyneux, cabinet member for economy, education, and skills