A NUMBER of expansion projects in north Hampshire have been given the go-ahead by Hampshire County Council.

Seven expansion projects totalling over £20million, which will provide just under 1,000 additional school places, were approved by the county council on Wednesday.

Basingstoke, Hook and Hartley Wintney are experiencing growing demand for school places due to rising birth rates and new housing developments and the county council is aiming to create more than 11,000 school places by 2018.

Following the expansion approval, Great Binfields Primary School, in Binfields Farm Lane, will be expanded from a one-form entry to a two-form entry, increasing its capacity to 420 school places.

As well as providing six new classrooms, the £3.8m project will see a new learning resource centre built and new shared group spaces.

Marnel Community Infant and Junior Schools, in Shetland Road, have also been given the thumbs up to expand from a three-form entry to a four-form entry, with 360 places at the infant school and 480 spaces at the junior school.

As part of the £3.6m project, new classrooms, a new resource area and a new community room will be provided at the infant school and the junior school will benefit from two group working rooms.

Hook Infant and Junior School, in Church View, will both be expanded to a four-form entry school, meaning 360 spaces will be available at the infant school and 420 spaces at the junior school.

Pupils at the infant school will benefit from new classrooms, improvements to the main entrance and hall and the junior school will have a new main entrance and a reception area. The work at both schools total £4.9m.

In Hartley Wintney, Oakwood Infant School will be expanded to a three-form entry school creating a total of 270 spaces.

As well as four new classrooms, the project will also include a specialist teaching space and a group work room, at a cost of £2.3m.

Greenfields Junior School, in Hartley Wintney, will also be expanded to a three-form entry taking the capacity to 360 spaces. Four new classrooms will be built at the school at a cost of £2.2m.

Councillor Peter Edgar, the county council’s executive member for education, said: “Hampshire has a strong track record of planning and for providing high quality teaching and learning spaces for pupils and their teachers. We want all children to have the best possible start to their education.

“Having a highly-skilled in-house property team, with a long track-record of designing award-winning school buildings and landscapes, means that we can design top-quality learning areas, use innovative thinking to make the most of the available space, and yet still make the money go a very long way.

“These projects are part of that investment and will meet the ever increasing demand for school places.”