Ark Putney, Brandlehow and Paddock School will all receive a share of the pot


Ark Academy, one of the three schools to have a share in the £15m pot

Councillors in Wandsworth have approved plans to invest more than £15m in providing more places at some of the borough’s most popular schools.

The proposed investment will mean local schools have enough classroom space to cater for rising pupils numbers and also provide local parents with more choice.

At secondary level, subject to the normal feasibility and planning application processes where necessary, Ark Academy will add two new classes to its intake by utilising available space in its existing building which was recently upgraded as part of a £30m school modernisation scheme.

At primary level, Brandlehow School will have enhanced buildings to enable it to revert to two forms of entry, having recently had to reduce to one due to lack of space. This will help to meet growing demand from parents in this part of the borough. Councillors were told that demand in this area is still rising despite the recent opening of the Oasis Academy on Putney Common.

A further cash injection of £350,000 will allow two new classes at Paddock special school in Roehampton which caters for children with moderate and severe learning difficulties.

Elsewhere in the borough the following schools will expand:

• St Cecilia’s Cof E in neighbouring Southfields, which specialises in music tuition, will increase its intake by one extra class.

• Chestnut Grove Academy in Balham, which specialises in art and design, will increase admissions by one class size, while the investment in new facilities will also enable the school to expand its sixth form provision.

The total cost of expanding the provision at St Cecilia’s, Chestnut Grove and Ark Putney Academy is around £12m.

Additional resources will also be invested in special educational needs provision to support children with a range of disabilities.

Using a Department for Education capital grant of £1.9m, improved special needs facilities have already been provided at Ravenstone primary school in Balham from last September.

Riversdale School in Southfields will see the establishment of a new £450,000 unit to support children with special needs. The support of the headteacher and governors to put this in place as soon as next September is very welcome and a consultation on this proposal is already under way.

The council’s cabinet member for education Cllr Sarah McDermott said: “This is a substantial programme of investment that will provide additional classroom places at some of our best performing and most popular schools.

”This is great news for local parents who will have more options and greater choice when it comes to choosing a school for their children. And I particularly welcome the extra investment in our special needs provision which will directly benefit some of the borough’s most vulnerable children.”

According to the Council, 97 per cent of all schools in the borough at both primary and secondary level are officially rated as either good or outstanding by education standards watchdog Oftsted.

February 20, 2018