Classroom bid to ease pressure at Kempsey Primary School given green light - The Malvern Observer

Classroom bid to ease pressure at Kempsey Primary School given green light

Malvern Editorial 27th Apr, 2018   0

KEMPSEY Primary School can ‘relieve the pressure’ on its already oversubscribed classes after a planning application to build four new classrooms was approved by Malvern Hills District Council.

With more than 500 new homes built in the village over the last two years as well as the rising reputation of the school, headteacher Bryony Baynes told the Observer the expansion was needed so it could cope with the potential influx of new pupils.

The approval comes as a welcome boost to the school with work on building the new classrooms due to start on Monday.

It is expected to be completed by the end of October.




“We are really pleased the application has been approved,” said Mrs Baynes.

“It’s great news for us as the classrooms will give us some much-needed space.”


The school currently caters for 300 students but has a published admission number (PAN) of 40.

With planning permission granted, it means the PAN cam be increased to 45 which would be ‘easier to manage’ and allow the school to cater up to 315 pupils.

The school is contributing £120,000 to the project and has secured £437,000 in section 106 money from Malvern Hills District Council.

“Most of our classes are already at a PAN of 45 but we will be increasing it to that across the whole school from September,” said Mrs Baynes.

“It’s not like we are going to be taking in hundreds of new pupils but it gives us more space and allows us to bring class sizes down.

“We are going to be employing a new teacher as part of being given the extra space.”

Business Directory

From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Malvern Observer newspaper.

Recruitment

Find a career you'll love with our free career finder website.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.