Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School, Calverton, to undergo £1million expansion
A Nottinghamshire school will undergo a £1.5million expansion to create more spaces for pupils.
Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School, Calverton, needs the work to reconfigure older buildings and create new ones.
Once completed, the project will include three new teaching spaces, a new library and new toilets.
Nottinghamshire County Council has approved the funding of £1.46 million for the scheme.
The school currently has around 200 pupils aged 7 to 11, and once the expansion is finished, the school will be able to take in 60 new pupils each school year instead of 50.
Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School is a feeder school to other secondary schools in the area, including Colonel Frank Seely Academy, Calverton, The Minster School, Southwell, and The Redhill Academy, Arnold.
A ‘feeder school’ is a primary or prep school that has established connections with specific secondary schools, and these secondary schools tend to prioritise admissions from a feeder school.
The council document reads: “The council has a statutory duty to ensure that there is a sufficiency of school places so action needs to be taken to ensure that accommodation is in place to meet the needs of pupils in this planning area.”
Boyd Elliott, who represents the Calverton ward, said: “The extension will accommodate a larger number of pupils.
“We’ve incorporated the school’s expansion into our budget, so the council is not having an overspend on it.
“The school needs a large amount of work to increase the number of pupils who can attend the school.
“We will be hiring more teachers to accommodate the teacher to pupil ratio and there will be an employment opportunity as well for new teaching staff.
“The school’s expansion will be a great benefit to the village. We’ve had a surge in developments in Calverton recently, and we’re improving the infrastructure of the village to match that.
“I’m very passionate about improving the area. I grew up here and my children go to school here. The school’s expansion is a big step to facilitate the needs of the village.”
Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School has been contacted by the LDRS for comment.