Work on new primary school to start in the spring

Proposed site of the new Wilstock Primary School on Cosmos Drive in Bridgwater

Work on a new primary school is to start in spring next year in an area where new housing developments are increasing the demand for school places.

Somerset Council confirmed in March that a new £7.7m primary school would be built between Bridgwater and North Petherton as part of the Wilstock Village Development.

It has now formally approved the new school, which will provide space for 210 students alongside a 40-space nursery.

At the moment, families living in one of the 248 new homes, built by the developer Bloor Homes South West, have to send their children to the Somerset Bridge Primary School in the neighbouring Stockmoor Village estate or further afield.

Plans for the new Wilstock Primary School within the development of 248 new homes in Bridgwater

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, in January 2025, there were 1,001 primary-aged children living in the North Petherton and Somerset Bridge school catchment areas, but only 840 places were available across the two schools.

Helen Waring, a member of the council's education places strategy team, said the school was "urgently needed" in light of work shortly beginning on the Bridgwater Gateway site and other housing developments being planned in Bridgwater and North Petherton.

Ms Waring added: "Both North Petherton Community Primary School and Somerset Bridge Primary School have very few places available and only a small area of the proposed development is expected to be within the two-mile statutory walking distance of Hamp Infant School.

"The only other schools with forecast capacity are also beyond the statutory walking distance and will require us to meet the transport costs."

The new school will be on Cosmos Drive, a short distance from the proposed community hub, which was granted detailed planning consent in April 2023. It is expected to welcome its first students by 2027.

It will be designed in such a way that the school can be expanded as pupil numbers grow. It is also expected to include two large football pitches and an outdoor play area.