Work to expand a South Cumbrian village school has begun.
A new extension at St Patrick’s C of E Primary School in Endmoor, near Kendal, will allow the capacity of children at the school to increase, in response to new housing projects being built locally.
The additional space will include new toilets, a cloakroom area, storage facilities and a 62sq m classroom. Westmorland and Furness Council and the Diocese of Carlisle are working together on the project.
Suzanne Edmondson, headteacher, said: “The school serves our community by providing a high standard of education and a warm and secure environment in which our children can flourish.
“Having more space will help us to continue to deliver these objectives and will bring huge benefits to our pupils as they progress on their educational journey with us.
“I would like to say how grateful I am to the team at Westmorland and Furness and the diocese who have worked together to ensure we were successful in securing enough funding for the building to go ahead.”
Westmorland and Furness Council used two funding streams to make the work possible.
Section 106 funding is provided by housing developers to ensure sufficient school places are available for growing communities as new housing is built and basic need funding is the money the Department for Education gives local authorities each year to make sure there are enough school places for children in their local area.
Milorad Vasic, director of children’s services, said: “These enhancements will bring massive benefits to this rural school, to both its existing families and the new ones it can accommodate as the capacity increases.
“This funding will ensure that for years to come we have sufficient school places locally, as demand continues to grow and I’m looking forward to seeing the extension taking shape over the next few months.”
Work is expected to complete in the autumn.
