St Mary’s Field Infant School, in Rowley Fields, will feel the benefit of £4 million worth of funding as they expand to become a primary school. The infant school currently has 236 pupils, but this will nearly double to 420 when the plans take effect from September 2014.
This expansion, which has just been approved by Leicester City Council, means that the school will accept children aged from three to eleven, rather than three to seven. It comes following a public consultation, in which parents, the school and governors responded exceptionally favourably to the proposed changes.
Cllr Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for children, young people and schools, said: “Addressing the increasing demand for school places is an absolute priority for the city. We know there is a need to increase pupil places, and this is another example of how we are contributing positively to that need.
“We also know that an all-through primary system is better for pupils’ education, removing the need for transition from infant to junior schools, which can be stressful for families.”
The project has benefited from the government’s Basic Need capital fund, and is part of plans to create over 4,000 primary school places in the next three years. The government will increase the amount of available positions by extending school sites and remodelling existing provisions.
Architects will now draw up plans, and it is expected that permanent new classrooms and a hall will be in place for September 2015.
