Consultations have been launched by Northamptonshire County Council on plans to double the size of two more primary schools in Northampton.
The local authority has put forward plans to increase the number of pupils at Lings Primary and Chiltern Primary from 210 to 420 places.
The proposed extensions are related to the rise in the population of primary aged pupils living in the area, which is the result of the higher birth rate and inward migration to Northampton.
There is pressure on primary school places in Northampton in particular and the county council is currently making plans to add over 4,400 primary places at schools across the town by September 2014.
Lings Primary, which was in special measures less than a year ago, recently became part of a new academy trust including five primary schools in the town.
It is planned that a separate block of additional classrooms would be built on the school site.
However, Lings Primary is one of the schools in the Northampton PFI contract, so the PFI provider will be responsible for the construction works and the completed facilities would then transfer to the academy trust.
The county council has said that, as a temporary measure, mobile classrooms may be installed in the summer of 2013. This is to allow the school to take an additional class from September 2013 and provides some extra space for the school in advance of the permanent building works being completed. The mobile classrooms would then be removed.
The initial consultation at Lings is being jointly undertaken by the county council and the Northampton Primary Academy Trust in order to obtain feedback about the expansion proposal.
The building proposal for the expansion of Chiltern Primary has not been confirmed but will be the subject of a “feasibility study”.
If the proposal goes ahead, the both schools will increase their annual admission number from 30 to 60. The consultation will run from November 21 to December 18.
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