A £7.6M scheme to rebuild a Hampshire school is said to be on schedule despite Covid-19 restrictions.

Work is currently underway at Fryern Junior School in Oakmount Road, Chandler’s Ford to construct a new single storey building to replace the old school site.

This comes after official documents revealed that the cladding of the existing 60-year-old building was in poor condition and a structural assessment determined that a full replacement was needed.

In January last year, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for education and skills, Councillor Roz Chadd, agreed the total cost of £7,642,000 to be spent on the new build.

Construction began in September 2020 and the project is now said to be on course to hit the original completion target of Spring this year.

On Friday, Chandler’s Ford County Councillor, Judith Grajewski, wrote in a Facebook post that work is now “well underway and on schedule despite Covid-19”.

The councillor has recently been in contact with the architect for the project and property services to catch up on progress and discuss the plan for the coming months.

This will involve the completion of internal works, bringing new classrooms into use and finally, the demolition of the old school and landscaping.

Cllr Grajewski, said: “I’m delighted to see that good progress is being made in construction of a replacement building for Fryern Junior School which will comprise new classrooms, learning support and administration areas, together with a new school hall.

"I’ve been closely involved with the project at every stage - from the very early consultations with the school, families and the local community. 

"The new facilities, due to be completed this summer, will be a tremendous boost for our already excellent education facilities locally.” 

When complete, the building will include nine classrooms, a library, a main hall with stores and kitchen, toilets and a staff room.

The new building is being made of sustainable, energy-efficient materials, alongside the existing school.

Once work is completed, the site of the old building will be landscaped to become a recreational and outdoor learning space.

Head teacher of the Federation of Fryern Infant and Junior Schools, Mrs Morrow, said: “We are excited to be moving into a beautiful, modern learning environment which will allow us to make the most of each child's potential.” 

The school caters for boys and girls from the ages of eight to 11 and has 240 students.