The new Hounsome Fields Primary School will provide education for up to 420 children aged between four and 11 years old, together with provision for eight pupils with special educational needs.
In support of the County Council’s climate change commitments, the new school will be a Climate Change Primary School Pilot project, aiming to achieve low-carbon emissions from its construction and operation, together with improved resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Councillor Edward Heron, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Children’s Services, said: “This is a significant step for our education buildings programme, leading the way in creating education buildings for the future which serve the needs of Hampshire’s children, and support and protect the environment.”
The school is needed to meet the anticipated demand for primary school places due to the building of new homes in two residential developments at Hounsome Fields and Basingstoke Golf Course.
It will be built in the northeast of the Hounsome Fields development, just west of the A30, on a three-hectare site that would allow for future expansion if required.
In aiming to meet its climate change objectives, the school will be built using a low-carbon timber structure together with a highly insulated and air-tight construction to minimise its energy consumption. It will also incorporate several features to improve its resilience to summer overheating in the future.
It is anticipated that the school will be ready to open in September 2025. The new school will be run by an academy, to be appointed through a competitive process by the Department for Education.
