Expansion plans for two Weston schools

TWO schools in Weston-super-Mare could be grow in size in a bid to provide more class places in the growing seaside resort.

North Somerset Council is consulting on plans on spending £5 million on rebuilding Ashcombe Primary School on its current site at Earlham Grove and creating a 630 place primary.

Education chiefs are also considering expanding Locking Primary School by 25 per cent from 315 places to 420 places.

The authority announced earlier this year plans to rebuild Ashcombe and expand Locking to provide more school places.

Plans to rebuild Ashcombe Primary would see the old building, which is currently in a poor state of repair, replaced by a new single storey building.

The new t-shaped building would provide 14 new classrooms, staff rooms, kitchen and cloakroom facilities and would see several temporary classrooms removed to make way for new play areas.

The project will also create an additional six car parking spaces, a sports pitch, play areas, allotment, wildlife meadow, a landscaped amphitheatre as well as a covered parent wait and pick up area that would be also be used for external teaching space during school hours.

A second round of consultation on both proposals has now been launched which runs until November 1 and a decision is expected in January.

If agreed the changes would come into force in September 2013.