A Burnham-On-Sea school is among two in Somerset which are to benefit from a £550,000 expansion investment to give them more space.
St Andrew’s School in Burnham is over-subscribed and has been making the most of its current space, meaning that some classes number up to 38 pupils.
The school was rated as ‘outstanding’ in its last Ofsted inspection and is keen to keep up the high standards.
Somerset County Council Cabinet Member Cllr John Osman said on Friday: “New classrooms, built for the purpose, will make the school experience even better for the children.”
“I’m pleased we are able to continue the investment in schools which has been £40 million since 2009, and expected to grow by another £17 million by 2013.”
Acting Headteacher of St Andrew’s, Gavin Morris, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We have been given a lot of investment over the last six or seven years and this has come out of the blue, so I am really pleased.”
“From a personal perspective, it’s a healthy problem we have. We are hoping to extend onto a small area of playground and then replace it elsewhere so that we will be able to teach the school in 11 classes rather than ten.”
The new classrooms and facilities at the school are expected to be opened during 2013.
The £546,000 grant to Somerset County Council was made within an extra £500million given to local authorities by the Department for Education and Skills this year to tackle the issue of over-subscribed schools.
The total capital grant for 2011/12 from the DfES to Somerset County Council schools rose to £16.6 million with the inclusion of this grant. The other Somerset school to benefit from the grant funding is Somerton Infants.
