"The modern, sustainable building design will provide young people with an excellent environment for learning, with natural light, ventilation and shaded outdoor spaces helping to keep classrooms comfortable throughout the year and creating a welcoming place to learn for many years to come.”
Designed as a modern, inclusive and sustainable place of learning by the County in-house Property Services team, the two-storey school will feature 14 classrooms, specialist teaching spaces, a music and drama studio, library and learning resource centre, dedicated facilities for students with special educational needs, playing fields, games courts and a range of indoor and outdoor areas to support learning and wellbeing.
Sustainability and climate resilience have been central to the school's design. Classrooms have been configured to maximise natural daylight and ventilation, helping to create comfortable learning spaces throughout the year. Covered outdoor areas will encourage outdoor activity in all weather, while solar shading features will help reduce overheating and glare during warmer summer months.
Emma Kiss, Engagement and Community Manager at Welborne, said: “The approval of Welborne’s first primary school is an important milestone because education has always been central to our vision for the new community. Together with the nursery, the school will place learning and support for families at the centre of village life."
The new school will serve families moving into the first phase of the Welborne Garden Village development and will form a key part of the neighbourhood's growing community infrastructure. The planned opening date of the new school is the start of the academic year 2029 / 30. Hampshire County Council will keep this under review over the coming months to ensure the opening of the school is aligned local demand.
Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, Cllr Simon Martin, said: “One of the essential ingredients for making Welborne a successful new community is through delivering infrastructure alongside the new housing. I am pleased to say that not only is the design of Welborne of a very high quality, but it also continues to deliver the infrastructure needed to make it successful at a very early stage. This modern new school will have the very best indoor and outdoor facilities and will provide a community hub within Welborne, which this Council strongly supports”.
Welborne Garden Village will provide up to 6,000 new homes alongside employment space, shops, healthcare facilities, community facilities, parks and green spaces, supported by new transport and infrastructure improvements, including the major improvement scheme at Junction 10 on the M27. The development will ultimately be served by three primary schools and a secondary school.