A CHEQUE for nearly £10 million has been signed to extend a Bordon school.
Hampshire County Council has budgeted a cool £9.25m for its plans to enlarge Oakmoor School.
The figure was approved last Friday during a decision day meeting for the executive member for education.
The two-storey extension will allow pupil numbers at the secondary school to increase by a third to 1,200.
The increase is needed because of the town’s growing population, with up to 2,400 new homes earmarked for the Whitehill & Bordon area in the coming years.
The school was built with expansion in mind, with the addition creating more than 1,500 square metres of extra learning and storage space.
Cllr Steve Forster, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for education, was happy to release the funds.
He said: “Whitehill & Bordon is undergoing a great deal of transformation and redevelopment.
“It’s important that we ensure there is suitable school accommodation to meet the needs of pupils now and into the future.”
The scheme is awaiting planning permission, as plans were submitted in June, but it is unlikely they will be rejected.
The two-storey extension to the school’s northern teaching block will contain toilets, offices and 16 new classrooms.
The existing block will also be remodelled to provide additional computer rooms, science and art classrooms, and a relocated special educational needs and disabilities base.
The school site will remain open during the construction period, with a 12-month project expected to begin next summer.
Oakmoor is run by the University of Chichester Academy Trust and currently provides education for up to 900 children aged between 11 and 16. The school currently has six forms of entry but this figure would rise to eight with the proposed influx of pupils.