Hedge End will be the base for south Hampshire's first primary school specifically designed to meet the needs of visually impaired children.

Hampshire County Council's executive councillor for education, David Kirk, has agreed to establish special integrated facilities at Kings Copse Primary School when the campus is redeveloped.

As reported by the Daily Echo, a shake-up of primary education provision in the Hedge End area has been under review and, following local consultation, a decision was taken in March to build a new 210-place primary school at Dowd's Farm in the wake of major plans to build up to 765 homes.

Linked to that were plans to bulldoze Kings Copse Primary and rebuild it as a 210-place primary on a different part of its existing site. Both new schools are due to open in September 2007.

The review also identified a need to provide locally-based facilities for primary-age pupils with visual impairment to match the specialist teaching, support and equipment offered by Basingstoke's Great Binfields Primary School in the north of the county.

Kings Copse was identified as being suitable because each area of the new school building could be designed with the needs of children with visual impairment in mind.

Features will include colour-coded internal paintwork, specialist lighting, Braille labels on doors and tactile surfaces, specialist teaching areas and space for technology such as Brailling machines.

An overwhelming majority of parents supported the plans and the governing body of Kings Copse has also backed the scheme following consultation with teachers and support staff.

The cost of the additional facilities is expected to be about £225,000, with ongoing costs being met by money allocated to the school to support special educational needs pupils.

Cllr Kirk said: "As a county council we are committed to offering every pupil in Hampshire the very best education possible and both the new primary school at Dowd's Farm and the rebuilt Kings Copse Primary School will further add to this."