WHITCHURCH CE Primary School is set to expand as a £2 million improvement was approved at a Hampshire County Council decision day meeting yesterday (September 20).

Hampshire County councillors, including portfolio holder Councillor Peter Edgar, approved the proposals, which will lead to construction of a new classroom block, with an extension to the existing hall to increase to the school’s capacity for students.

The school can currently take 420 students, and with the extension and new classrooms, the school would be able to take an additional 105 pupils, bringing the maximum number to 525 students.

The new expansion will include a single-storey four classroom block, which will have pupil toilets and an accessible toilet, and a storage and plant room. This will also include the single-storey expansion to the main hall, and there will be associated hard and soft landscaping and seven additional car parking spaces. A new footpath will be added to improve pedestrian safety in front of the school.

The school site was originally built in 1970, with the last major development of a single storey block being added in 1998, providing six more classrooms.

The work on the expansion is planned to begin on the site during the Summer in 2018 and complete during Spring 2019.

The school will continue to be in use during the construction phase.