EXTENSIVE work to transform a North Paddington special school has been given the go-ahead.
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School, in Kennet Road, is set to receive a two-storey extension which will provide a new hydrotherapy pool, physiotherapy room and sensory roof garden for about 70 pupils with severe learning difficulties.
The scheme was approved as part of the £152million Building Schools for the Future programme in Westminster.
Under the plans, which were approved by Westminster Council last Thursday, the £5.7m development will result in an increase of 400sq metres of educational floor space, enlarged specialist classrooms and a new dedicated sixth form area with a gym.
A new learning resource centre and special educational needs staff training facility will also be provided, along with greatly improved information and communications technology facilities.
The school, which caters for five to 19-year-olds, will have a new green roof and will be served by a gas-fired air source heat pump, helping to reduce the school's carbon emissions by 17 per cent.
Councillor Mark Page, Westminster Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Our aim is
to provide the best possible start in life for every child in Westminster and I am delighted that this scheme has been given the go-ahead, as it represents a significant improvement to the existing educational facilities.
"These new resources and the quality of the design will have a positive effect on the students' learning and achievement."
Work is already under way in six other schools including Pimlico Academy, in Lupus Street, Pimlico; St Marylebone CofE School, in Marylebone High Street, Marylebone; Westminster City School, in Palace Street, Victoria; St Augustine's CofE School, in Oxford Road, Maida Vale; St George's RC School, in Lanark Road, Maida Vale; and Grey Coat Hospital CofE School, in Greycoat Place, Pimlico.
