A Beeston school is set to expand to meet growing demand for places linked to new housing in the area.
Nottinghamshire County Council is being asked to approve the next stage of an £841,933 expansion project at Beeston Rylands Junior School, allowing the scheme to move into the construction phase.
A report to the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management says pupil place data shows a growing shortfall in junior school places in the area, arising from increased housing locally.
The council says it has a statutory duty to ensure there are enough school places for children living in the county. The Beeston Rylands Junior School project is part of its wider School Places Programme, which is used to respond to demand for school places across Nottinghamshire.
The expansion would provide 30 additional pupil places at the school, allowing it to increase its Published Admission Number from 50 to 60 when needed.
The project involves the installation of a new modular classroom block at the school. The classroom will be manufactured in four units and assembled on site.
According to the report, the new block will provide teaching space for 30 pupils, a group room, storage and DDA-compliant amenities.
The modular classroom is expected to be installed over the summer and available for use from September 2026.
A further stage of the project is expected to come forward later for internal works within the existing school building. These would adapt space to accommodate the expansion and reorganisation of the school, as well as refurbishing a special educational needs room.
The latest estimated cost of the project is £841,933. This includes £738,398 for building works, £76,402 in professional fees and £27,133 for furniture and equipment. The furniture and equipment funding will be provided to the school to procure directly.
The scheme is being funded through Section 106 developer contributions, which are payments secured from housing developers to help provide infrastructure and services needed as a result of new development.
The report says £924,131 is available through developer agreements to fund an expansion at Beeston Rylands Junior School. A further developer agreement has also provided a parcel of land next to the school at no cost to the school or council.
The expansion will not be built on that land, but the council says it will provide replacement outdoor space for the area lost to the footprint of the modular building.
The report says the remainder of the Section 106 funding available for the school will be allocated to the later phase of internal works.
Council officers say the costs have been reviewed by Arc Partnership’s Quantity Surveying and Estimating teams, with queries raised and challenged where needed. The report says costs were also checked against recognised industry pricing data to ensure they reflected current market conditions.
It adds that relevant trade packages and quotations were competitively tendered where appropriate, and that the modular element was benchmarked against the Leen Mills project as a comparable cost reference.
Although the modular cost per square metre is higher than at Leen Mills, the report says this is considered reasonable because the Beeston Rylands project is smaller and some fixed or semi-fixed costs, such as groundworks, drainage and enabling works, do not reduce in proportion to building size.
The council says doing nothing has been discounted because without the additional space the school would face an insufficiency of places from September 2026 onwards.
The report also says the construction type of the existing building does not easily allow for a built-on extension, and that a stand-alone modular block offers the quickest and best-value option compared with other construction methods.
If approved, the new modular classroom would be ready for occupation at the start of the 2026/27 school year.
- ‘Danger to animals’ jailed after breaching order and causing dog serious injuries
- Grants of up to £2,000 available for community wellbeing projects in Rushcliffe