Two Shrewsbury primary schools to be expanded as population grows
Two primary schools are expanding to cope with the growing population of Shrewsbury.
Shropshire Council has revealed it is increasing the provision at Mereside CE and Meole Brace, to accommodate an extra 180 pupils.
It is adding a further six primary phase class bases, each of which can accommodate 30 students, and are being commissioned for the 2019/20 academic year.
Mereside is getting four class bases while Meole Brace will have an extra two.
It follows calls from Councillor Roger Evans for a new all-through school to be built.
He said three schools in the south of the town, Meole Brace, Belvidere and Priory are at full capacity.
Councillor Nick Bardsley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said the plans are underway.
He added: "It is acknowledged that additional school places will be required in future years, both in the primary and secondary phases, for which plans are being developed. One of the issues is that there are site restrictions on the majority of primary school sites in the town which means that consideration may need to be given to a new school in the town.
"We’ve been working for a long period with senior leaders in the Shrewsbury schools impacted by growth in pupil numbers, both primary and secondary, to both plan for and agree the options for increasing the provision of school places. These discussions are ongoing."
Councillor Bardsley also said while there is a bulge in secondary-aged pupil numbers forecast for the first part of the next decade, the authority's current priority is primary school provision.
In February this year, Shropshire Council granted planning permission for more than 600 homes at Weir Hill and it is currently deciding whether to allow 228 homes to be built at Copthorne Barracks.
Councillor Evans said the current schools cannot handle an influx of children when the new homes are built.
