Schools in line for extra room (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Schools in line for extra room

1:00pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in Education By Emily Roberts

TEMPORARY classrooms are to be built at four primary schools in The Gazette area to accommodate an increase in pupil numbers.

A report, prepared for Councillor Roy Perry, executive lead member for children’s services, states that Hampshire has experienced a “significant rise in births over the last 10 years.”

This, together with housing development in various parts of the county, has resulted in pressure on primary school places.

The report added: “This will necessitate the need for additional permanent and temporary accommodation.”

Around 20 schools in Hamp-shire are on a list of those to have temporary classrooms, including Merton Infant School, in Popley, Oakridge Infant School, in Oakridge Road, Park View Infant School, in South Ham – all Basingstoke – and Bramley Primary School, in Bramley.

Angela Genn, headteacher at Oakridge Infant School, said: “Obviously, there’s been more housing in Basingstoke so there’s bound to be more pressure on pupil places. It’s part of a whole county strategy to deal with that. They aren’t just looking at the need of individual schools.”

Alison Johnson, headteacher at Park View, said that last year the school was full and had a waiting list.

She added: “We have been contacted by the council to say there’s huge pressure across the county, so we had an initial meeting to discuss the possibility of providing a temporary classroom.”

Plans costing £1.67million to extend Bramley Primary School to create four extra classrooms have already been approved by the county council. This will provide extra space for the increase in the number of children living in the catchment area. But the school is also on the list to have temporary classrooms installed to accommodate children in September 2012.

Sarah Hodnett, chair of the governors, said they are expecting two temporary classrooms for September 2012 to be used for a year while the extension is built.

She added: “They will be for up to 30 children. Because we are extending the reception area, we are losing classrooms for the rest of the school so we need these temporary classrooms to accommodate the children.”

Across Hampshire, 25 temporary classrooms are needed, which cost between £130,000 to £150,000 each, and they will either be rented for short-term requirements or purchased for those schools with long-term pressures.

Cllr Perry, who approved the temporary classrooms plan for the Basingstoke area, said the location of these classrooms are linked to “our longer-term strategic planning for future demand for school places and have also been chosen for their accessibility to meet demand forecast for 2012 in the town.”

As previously reported in The Gazette, a Hampshire County Council report on future demand for school places says two or three new primary schools are needed in Basingstoke during the next 10 years to cope with a baby boom. A consultation on this issue will continue until March 31.