Stratford School gets planning permission for £17.5m extension
STRATFORD School has been given planning permission for a multi-million-pound redevelopment of its site which will create new facilities and allow it to enrol more children.
The school, on Alcester Road, applied for permission in December last year to build a new dance and drama studio, design and tech labs, sixth-form suite and learning intervention hub.
The scheme, which was approved by Warwickshire District Council on 14th July, would see four two- and three-storey buildings created along with a new bus pick-up and drop-off loop road and car park.
The expansion will increase the school’s capacity by 360 pupils, allowing 12 forms in Year 7, up from 10. The overall capacity will eventually be 2,000 students.
The costs of the project, which will be funded by the county council, were estimated at £11.5m back in December 2020, but are expected to be about £17.5m following detailed designs and increases in construction costs caused by global events.
Earlier this year Andy Mason, director of finance and operations at Stratford School, told the Herald: “We hope to bring in a computing suite as part of our design and tech facilities. This will enable students to learn on software and tech they’ll come across when they go into industry, for example what JLR uses.
“The SEN and intervention area will be great as it will bring all the support staff together in one space, whereas at the moment they’re dispersed around the school.”
Mr Mason added that the new design and tech suites will be used for a wide variety of subjects such as art and design, architecture, textiles and food tech.
The planning permission includes a condition that the developer contributes £50,000 towards the cost of an Alcester Road cycle scheme.
