THE COST  of a new Hampshire school which is set to open in 2021 has now been revealed.

The new seven form entry secondary school that will be built in Hedge End is expected to cost £21,266,000 and is set to open in September 2021 under the name of Deer Park School. 

The news comes as earlier this year civic chiefs approved plans for 980 new homes, sports pitches, open spaces and infrastructure on Uplands Farm Estate, a site owned by Hampshire County Council (HCC) and identified for future housing development in Eastleigh Borough Council’s Local Plan.

As reported the estate consists of a site west of Woodhouse Lane in Hedge End and one north of Winchester Street in Botley.

In February civic chiefs said the school, which will be built on the site west of Woodhouse Lane,  will be the first element to be developed, ready to provide additional school places before the development of the new housing.

Now county councillors are set to grant spend approval to the school proposals at the total cost of £21,266,000.

A decision is to be made at the meeting of the Executive Member for Education and Skills, Human Resources and Performance which will be held in Winchester on May 8.

According to a report published ahead of the meeting, the new school will accommodate 1050 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years old and will have seven forms of entry.

The school site has been master-planned to enable the school to be expanded to nine forms of entry in the future, the report says and it will be an academy run by the Wildern Academy Trust.

The main school building, a sports building, car parking, external social spaces, a multi-use games area and grassed sports pitches wil be created at the site as part of the scheme.

The school will have 26 general teaching classrooms;  20 specialist teaching classrooms for art, science, technology and music; special educational needs and disabilities support rooms; a learning resource centre, a drama studio and a dining hall with adjacent kitchen.

Meanwhile, a four-court sports hall, activity studio, changing facilities and staff offices will be built as part of the new sports building.

The free school is to be funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and developer contributions.

As reported, the site north of Winchester Street in Botley, will see 375 new homes, a public open space, allotments and access roads.

Meanwhile, 605 new homes are set to be built at the site west of Woodhouse Lane in Hedge End, along with a public open space, including land for sports pitches and new access roads.