A HAMPSHIRE school is set to be demolished and completely transformed by a new £7.6 million building next year.

Following spending approval by Hampshire County Council, Fryern Junior School, in Chandler's Ford, has called the final farewell to its ageing timber-framed 60-year-old building, which is "coming to the end of its useful life".

By spring next year, the school will have a new building made of sustainable, energy-efficient materials, alongside the existing 240-pupil school, which is set to be demolished.

Once works are completed, the area is landscaped to become a recreational and outdoor learning space for the school.

The junior school, which caters for boys and girls from eight to 11 years of age, was given a Good rating by Ofsted in December 2018.

It stated the environment offered to pupils is enthusiastic, engaging and harmonious in which to learn.

Councillor Roz Chadd, the County Council’s executive member for education and skills, agreed the total cost of £7,642,000 to be spent on the new build on January 10.

She said: "A full rebuild is clearly needed at Fryern, which is currently sited in a timber framed building which is almost 60 years old and coming to the end of its useful life. The replacement building will be suitable for 21st century teaching, made of sustainable, energy efficient materials.

"It is good to see that by sharing design and procurement requirements with another planned replacement - for the current Grange Junior School in Gosport - cost efficiencies have been achieved. I am pleased to see that arrangements have been made to keep disruption to the children’s education and school’s operation to a minimum.”

In November 2009, Fryern Infant and Junior Schools were linked in a federation and now share the same headteacher and governing body.

The new school works will include building a single entrance to serve both Fryern Junior and the adjacent infants’ school.

The build is set to implement nine classrooms with break out spaces for small group learning; library or learning resource centre; main hall and kitchen; pupil and staff toilets; and a staff room.

Refurbishments to the infant school will also be made to the entrance lobby, main reception, headteacher’s office and other offices, accessible toilet and reprographics room.