Posted on Friday 28th October 2022
Work on a £4 million school refurbishment has officially started.
Teachers and pupils, plus representatives from Staffordshire County Council, constructors GF Tomlinson and Entrust all gathered to celebrate the ceremonial breaking of ground on the new St Leonard’s Primary School in Stafford.
Pupils and staff from St Leonard’s will be moving from their current Victorian building to a new, larger site five minutes’ walk away at the current Kingston Centre.
The move will allow the school to accommodate more pupils and ensure the school is able to cope with an increased demand for places due to local housing developments in the local area.
The Kingston Centre is being fully remodelled and refurbished, with the new, bigger building boasting modern facilities, extensive outdoor playing provision and the option to add further buildings later.
The refurbished school will be ready by September 2023. Refurbishments are being completed by GF Tomlinson with design by Entrust.
Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Education Jonathan Price said:
“This is a really exciting time for the school and its pupils, as they are finally seeing work start on site. Staff are doing a fantastic job in their current building, but as it continues to age, an increasing amount of maintenance is needed to keep it suitable for education. The school’s playing field is also separate.
“By refurbishing the Kingston Centre, we are ensuring that children can be educated in a bright, modern facility with a large playing field right next to the school. It was great to see so many excited children on site to view what will become their new school building. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the Kingston Centre truly transform into the new St Leonard’s Primary School, ready for September 2023.”
Charlotte Cooke, Headteacher at St Leonard’s, said:
“To see the building already transforming into our new site was extremely exciting for both myself and the staff and of course the children. The increased outdoor and indoor space and modern facilities will support us in further developing high-quality and inspiring provision for all our school community.
We can utilise everything the new site has to offer to provide our children with outstanding learning experiences and opportunities whilst welcoming new pupils into our school community. We are very grateful for the opportunity to extend and modernise our setting and are certain that this will only continue to ensure that we are a good school who provide the best for our children in all learning capacities.”
Kevin Dodds, Construction Director at G F Tomlinson, said:
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Staffordshire County Council once again to deliver a new, high-quality school building for the Stafford community.
“The project will create much-needed schools places in the area, and it was fantastic to see all the children on site who will be welcomed into the new school in September.”
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