Council set to spend £2.6m on school expansion

Colton Hills Community School had also applied to the local authority to establish a special educational needs resource base, a report said

A council is set to spend £2.6m to expand a secondary school to create space for about 80 more pupils.

City of Wolverhampton Council has agreed to refurbish and remodel Colton Hills Community School in Goldthorn Park to cater for an extra class from September next year.

The school already provided a "bulge class" in September due to a temporary surge in pupil numbers.

To meet anticipated demand, the school will be required to expand further from September next year and permanently expand from September 2027, which would require more money.

Its published admission number would increase from 161 to 240 which would provide an additional 79 Year 7 places from September 2027 and 395 permanent places in total by September 2031.

The council said the school's gym would be refurbished, toilets and showers remodelled and male and female changing areas extended to accommodate extra pupils.

A report outlining a decision by the council stated the school had also applied to the local authority to establish a special educational needs (Send) resource base for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

It said the design "for the permanent expansion will be delivered as a standalone building", incorporating the required space for the Send hub.

Ongoing design work was being undertaken to establish costs, but it was anticipated to be around £6.1m, the report added.

"The cost per place would be £19,326, which is significantly below the national average.

"However, it should be noted that this is a very high level cost estimate and elements such as surveys and ground conditions will need to be carried out."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.