£5m to create new primary school
£5m to be spent transforming the school
FURTHER details have been produced showing how £5 million will be spent on transforming a former secondary school in Earl Shilton into the largest primary in the area.
The move follows successful lobbying by local councillors and the community to retain the old Heathfield Academy on Belle Vue Road as an educational centre.
The academy closed down in July 2016 due to a merger with William Bradford Academy less than 500m away on Heath Lane. This new Heath Lane Academy offers an all-through 11 to 19 schooling provision.
Now Leicestershire County Council have submitted plans to convert the building into a two-form entry first school with Newlands Primary relocating once it is completed. There will also be a 26-place nursery.
The proposals, which have had significant input from the operational team at Newlands, include demolishing all of the additional blocks built since the original Art Deco-fronted school opened in 1938.
This original section will be retained and, together with an extension, will provide three new classrooms and a food/science/design technology space focused around two internal courtyards.
Refurbishment and internal reconfiguration will ensure facilities are brought bang up to date, a new facade, window treatments and roofing are also planned.
The existing play area is considered suitable for retention but there will be alterations to the car park and vehicle entrance as well as a total revamp of the surrounding landscaping to provide a more ecoinspired “forest school”.
The popular pool will go as it has been deemed unsuitable and not up to modern standards.
While initially places will be limited to around 420 pupils the 3.7 hectare site offers the scope to accommodate up to 630 spaces if required.
The council anticipates primary school demand for Barwell and Earl Shilton will increase substantially in the next five to 10 years thanks to the thou- sands of homes allocated as part of the Sustainable Urban Extensions currently being developed.
There is no extra capacity at any of the existing schools and county figures suggest some 984 primary school places will be required in the area.
A spokesman for Leicestershire County Council said: “We expect the school to open in August next year and it will help to provide extra school places which is a priority for the council.”
The investment is part of a wider package of measures for the borough which promise to improve educational facilities and increase capacity.
At Hinckley’s Richmond Primary School £2 million will go on an additional 210 places at the school to allow the school to increase its intake from 60 to 90 pupils.
A similar scheme is planned for Sketchley Hill Primary School in Burbage with £3.2 million being spent on increasing the roll by, again, 210 places.
Townlands Primary School in Earl Shilton will see an extra 105 places developed allowing for a capacity of 420 pupils at a cost of £1.1 million.
While £500,000 is being spent on improving special needs provision, offering extra places at Dorothy Goodman in Hinckley thanks to the new-build off Barwell Lane along with other centres in the county.
All the extra places should be available by September 2018.