ALL-INCLUSIVE student toilet facilities, new classrooms and dining space and “thermally efficient” cladding are amongst the planned improvements for a North Hampshire secondary school.

Testbourne Community School could be set to undergo a £3.15m redevelopment of one of its main teaching blocks.

Funding was signed off by Hampshire County Council in September 2019, who touted the project as an opportunity to “improve teaching and learning spaces to better suit the school’s requirements”.

And now planning permission has been formally sought after plans were lodged with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, revealing further details of the proposals.

The project would involve internal and external alterations to one of the school’s existing ‘SCOLA’ type teaching blocks – one of the two main teaching blocks on the site – which requires improvements after half a decade of use.

The proposal’s design and access statement reads: “Many of the components in the SCOLA system were specified to achieve a life of 25 years, but 50 years on the buildings are still in use.

“The life expiry elements of the buildings have been mitigated by ongoing investment in all aspects of these buildings but inevitably there is a need to put in place a programme of replacement for which this application relates.”

The planned improvements include “thermally efficient cladding” and new aluminium double-glazed windows and doors, plus an “overlay of the existing flat roof with a new three layer built up flat roofing system”.

The design and access statement adds: “The recladding works are to be undertaken as the existing building fabric is poorly insulated and coming towards the end of its useful life, and therefore the existing building is not thermally efficient.

“The proposed new recladding works aim to address these problems in order to achieve improved thermal performance in accordance with the current building regulations and achieve a reduction in solar gains.

“These enhancements should provide an overall improvement in comfort levels for both staff and pupils.”

Internal alterations will also see a new groundfloor science lab, a purpose built IT space with new IT equipment, an increased area pupil dining space, a new all-inclusive student toilet facility, plus general refurbishment of classrooms, circulation and ancillary spaces.

The design and access statement adds: “The internal alterations will alter the location, size and configuration of a number of the teaching and ancillary spaces to better suit the requirements of the curriculum and the needs of the pupils. The physical building footprint will not increase in size.”

Three ‘temporary double modular classroom units’ would also be installed to provide learning spaces while the main work is undertaken.

It is anticipated these modular classrooms would be built during the summer holidays to minimise disruption.

To view the plans in full go to planning.basingstoke.gov.uk/online-applications/ and search using the reference ‘20/00262/CONS’.