Market Harborough: New £9.3m carbon neutral primary school to open

The state-of-the-art school will operate on renewable energy and aims to be free of utility bills

A new £9.3m carbon neutral primary school in Leicestershire is on track to open its doors later this year.

Wellington Place Primary School is being built in Airfield Road, in Market Harborough and is due to open with 17 pupils and one teacher in August.

The school will operate on renewable energy, including solar panels, and aims to be free of utility bills.

It is the second carbon neutral primary school in the county - the first being Hollycroft Primary, in Hinckley.

Head teacher Cressida Knox said the state-of-the-art school would feature recycled rainwater and air source heat pumps to help cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"A key objective will be to establish the grounds and create long standing bio-diversity areas that the children can enjoy," she said.

This will include wildlife gardens, mini forests, pond and bat and bird boxes to encourage wildlife.

Ms Knox said: "It will still look like a school but a little bit different, which is extremely exciting."

She said there would also be a "real strong push" to be paper-free and encourage families to walk to school, which is located on the new Wellington Place estate.

The school features solar panels and air source heat pumps

The school, which has capacity for 210 pupils, will open in stages starting with the reception year on 27 August.

In the following years it will increase classes and introduce other year groups.

Ms Knox said the first cohort of children "will pioneer our school's future and identity" and help tackle climate change.

"Their views and ideas are going to be so important," she said. "It's once in a lifetime for me and our four-year-olds."

The school will be run by Discovery School Trust, which manages 13 other primary schools across Leicestershire and Rutland.

Chief executive Paul Stone said: "It is always a huge privilege and responsibility to open a new school... a school of the 21st Century that excites and challenges our children's thinking."

Deborah Taylor, cabinet member for children and families at Leicestershire County Council, said: "Our aim is to make the new school the centre of the local community providing the excellence in education."