THREE Somerset secondary schools will soon benefit from larger dining rooms under a £2.6m investment from Somerset Council.
The council’s capital programme – which was approved at its budget setting meeting in February – included the provision for upgrades to three schools: Monkton Wood Academy in Monkton Heathfield, Pyrland School in Taunton and Court Fields School in Wellington.
The council published details on its website in early-May confirming it was going out to tender on all three upgrades, which are needed to account for growing pupil numbers on all three sites.
The dates for implementing the improvements will be confirmed once the tendering process has been completed, with council officers working to keep pupil disruption to an absolute minimum.
According to the council’s capital programme, £1m will be spent at Monkton Wood Academy, alongside £900,000 for Pyrland School and £700,000 for Court Fields School – a total of £2.6m across the three sites.
These upgrades are fully funded through a mixture of central government grants from the Department for Education (DfE) and contributions from housing developments across the two settlements.
Sarah Love, the council’s senior manager for education places strategy, stated: “Doing nothing is not an option.
“With dining and kitchen facilities which are significantly smaller than schools of these size require, the two Taunton schools are already struggling to improve standards and all three schools are feeling the effects of core facilities which fall short of the DfE benchmark.
“There is a concern that the multi-academy trusts will look to reduce admission numbers to reflect the capacity of the dining areas, which would be hugely challenging at a time when secondary aged pupils in Taunton and Wellington are increasing.”
Monkton Wood Academy is part of the Bristol-based Cabot Learning Federation, which also includes the Sky Academy elsewhere in Taunton.
Pyrland School is part of the Richard Huish Trust, which also includes Richard Huish College and five primary schools in and around Taunton.
Court Fields School is part of the Blackdown Education Partnership, which comprises schools on either side of the Blackdown Hills – including the Castle School in Taunton and Holyrood Academy in Chard.
All three sites are expected to see pressure from new housing growth in the coming years as a result of new or pending developments.
A new ‘through school’ (combining primary and secondary education on one site) is expected to be delivered under phase two of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension, comprising 1,450 homes – but there is no indication as to how soon this will come on stream.
In Wellington, up to 200 new homes will soon be delivered off Nynehead Road to unlock land for the town’s new railway station – with the prospect of 315 further homes in the neighbouring village of Rockwell Green.
Ms Love added: “The expansion of dining and kitchen facilities is essential to ensure that capacity at these secondary schools is not lost and to improve the dining experience, which will have a positive impact on behaviour and help to improve standards.”
The council will announce the appointment of its chosen contractor for these upgrades later in the summer.
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