Early 2024 public consultation on plans to relocate south Warwickshire village primary school

Plans to relocate a village primary school and more than quadruple its intake are to be opened up to the public early next year.

The building of 3,000 new homes as part of a new community at Upper Lighthorne is set to see Lighthorne Heath Primary School, Stratford Road, Lighthorne Heath, relocate half a mile away to a 2.8 hectare plot dedicated to new primary school provision.

The current school has a published admission number (PAN), the volume of pupils which can be accommodated in each year group without causing problems, of 13, meaning it caters for up to 91 children at any one time.

The needs of the housing, located to the south of Warwick and Leamington and the east of Stratford-upon-Avon, would far exceed that with the new school building set to have capacity for up to 420 pupils.

It is due to open in September 2025 but initially, its PAN will only increase to 30 pupils per year – 210 children overall – with Warwickshire County Council’s report stating that “a further increase in PAN will be reviewed in line with demand for places from the housing development”.

There are also plans to cater for 14 pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The proposal was initially given the green light by the county’s cabinet – the panel of Conservative councillors in charge of major service areas – in 2018 with funding for the design and development of the new building approved in December 2020.

Authorities must hold a public consultation period of at least four weeks for any proposal to enlarge the capacity of a maintained school or to alter SEND provision.

The council’s report acknowledges this needs to take place between February and March 2024 in order to stay on track to open for the start of the academic year 2025-26 and permission to progress with the consultation was granted by Councillor Kam Kaur (Con, Bilton & Hillside), the county's portfolio holder for education, on Friday (December 8).

Work on the new building will be paid for through developer contributions and Education Capital Funding.