Banbury area village school to get £2.8m investment - work takes place next year

The school – which has grown along with a huge amount of housebuilding in the village – has already been expanded over the last few years to cope with demand.

Thw latest programme of work involves constructing a new school hall with storage, repurposing the current hall as a multifunctional teaching space and the refurbishment of an existing building to provide a kitchen.

Councillor John Howson, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, said: “These are exciting plans for Bloxham Church of England Primary School, reflecting our commitment to provide a top class learning and teaching environment for Oxfordshire’s children. My cabinet colleagues will discuss these plans at December 19 meeting and a decision will be taken then.”

The new hall would be located at the front of the school, adjacent to the main entrance and would be of red brick to blend with the existing school building.

Improvements to the school’s forecourt and parking area would also be made, including adding a disabled parking space.

Planning permission was granted in April 2023 for the scheme. Subject to cabinet approval, construction is due to start early 2024 and would take around a year to complete.

As a village with bus services, pubs, a surgery, schools and shops, Bloxham is a category of Oxfordshire village that has been obliged to take hundreds of new homes, built on new estates on the Milton, Barford, Tadmarton and Banbury roads, causing extensive extra demand for primary school places.