Plans submitted by West Berkshire Council for new classroom block at Falkland Primary School

Plans to build a brand new two-storey, eight-classroom block at a Wash Common primary school have been put forward.

West Berkshire Council submitted a planning application to make significant changes at Falkland Primary School last week, after first revealing the plans to parents and nearby residents at an open evening last month.

The plans would see the two existing, single-storey modular buildings – which currently house classrooms from Year 3 to Year 6 – replaced with more modern facilities.

The planning application reads: “The existing single-storey modular buildings were installed over 20 years ago, and their construction standards are now outdated.

“This has led to increasingly expensive maintenance, excessive heating costs, and inadequate comfort levels.

“The fact that these are two separate buildings, occupying a large area of the site to house all eight classrooms on a single-story, restricts interaction among Key Stage 2 pupils and significantly reduces the external play area.”

The objectives for the project include replacing the modular blocks with a more accessible and energy sufficient building that will reduce future maintenance costs for the school, as well as maximising the hard play areas on site and improving the quality and usability of the existing playing field.

The plans also set out a vision for Falkland that the new classroom building will hope to achieve: “A school whose buildings and site meet their function and purpose, while delighting and inspiring pupils and staff to achieve and surpass their best.”

If the plans are approved, the new block will be built to the north west of the main school building, occupying space currently taken up by the Key Stage 2 playground and netball court.

A new netball court would be constructed to the rear of the existing sports hall.

Once it is fully constructed and operational, the two modular blocks will be demolished and replaced with a new outdoor space for the school that will include a play area, playground equipment, a shaded seating area and several natural features such as new trees, shrubs and bushes.

The school’s car park would also altered as part of the plans, but the existing number of parking spaces would be retained.

To view the full planning application, search for reference 24/02354/REG3 on West Berkshire Council’s planning portal.

These plans come after the council issued an architect’s brief for tender for a £4m extension to the primary school in July 2023.