A BROWNSOVER school is to expand its age range.
Brownsover Community Infant School will take in children up to the age of 11, having previously only taught children up to the age of seven, after the changes were approved by Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC) Cabinet.
The new plans will see the school take in fewer children to each year group from September 2023.
It means the school will move from a two-form entry infant school to a one-form entry primary, lowering the number of children in each year group to 30 but eventually offering education across seven year groups rather than the current three.
The school will ultimately build back up to exceed its current total of 180 pupils when it becomes an all-though primary with seven one-form entry year groups of 30 pupils each, totalling 210 pupils.
The council says the move will safeguard the future of the school, citing financial modelling which shows the school will be ‘more sustainable’ as a one form entry primary school.
WCC’s education spokeswoman Coun Kam Kaur said: “Changing the age range at Brownsover Community Infant School is a simple measure but makes terrific use of public money. It relieves pressure on existing schools in the short term and allows them to change their offer so that they can be sustained and add resilience to our local educational offer in coming years when numbers go back up. Local residents will benefit from the wider choice and increased quality of education.
“For pupils at Brownsover, it will also ultimately offer the experience of an all-through primary school, allowing them the continuity of education as they go from reception through to secondary age. Again, this can only be good for their educational and social development and will help to bring communities together as children grow up together. I’m thrilled at what a good outcome this has for all involved.”
Both Brownsover Community Primary and Boughton Leigh Infant School have been under pressure following a decrease in birth cohort numbers in the local area in recent years, resulting in reduced numbers at both schools.
The council says reducing Brownsover Community School’s yearly intake from 60 to 30 will help keep the supply of school places in the area at a sustainable level, with the opening of the one-form-entry Griffin Primary School on the nearby 1,300-home Gateway development in 2023 set to increase pupil capacity in the area.
The school will undergo a £965,000 remodelling to provide a Key Stage 2 learning environment and achieve the minimum classroom size guidelines and ancillary space, with £509,000 coming from developer funding and the remainder from WCC’s education capital grant.
Brownsover school will take its first influx of Year 3 pupils in September 2026. In the interim years, children will leave Year 2 and go on to Boughton Leigh Junior School. Following the first Year 3 intake at Brownsover Community School in September 2026, Boughton Leigh Infant School and Boughton Leigh Junior School admission numbers will align.
