Ascot primary school could be knocked down and redeveloped

A primary school could be demolished and redeveloped after unsafe concrete – prone to ‘sudden collapse’ – was found in the building.

Back in 2023, concerns were raised by parents of children attending St Francis Catholic Primary School in Coronation Road, Ascot.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), a weaker type, was identified in the school and the affected areas were subsequently closed off.

The Royal Borough commissioned a RAAC survey of its school buildings in 2022 and no unsafe concrete was found apart from at St Francis Catholic Primary School.

The council worked alongside the Department for Education (DfE) to address the problem and alternative classrooms were arranged for the pupils.

Since then, the DfE has put forward a set of plans to demolish and replace the main school building, which has ‘reached the end of its operational life’.

The proposals will go before a Windsor and Ascot development management committee on Thursday (February 12).

During the construction period, a single-storey temporary school will be built on the existing playing field and will remain open for two years.

The alternative classrooms currently on site will also be retained.

A pedestrian route isolated from the construction site is proposed for children, parents and staff, planning documents said.

The new school building could be finished in time for the start of the school year in September 2027.

It would offer ‘modern and inclusive’ teaching spaces, the planning documents said.

Some of the classrooms, the school hall, and most of its kitchen were affected by RAAC.

The new part single, part two-storey school will thus have an assembly hall, offices for staff and a kitchen with dining space.

A new indoor hall which can be used for sport, a multi-use games area and the reinstatement of the school’s playing field are also planned.

But Sunninghill and Ascot Parish Council and residents raised concerns around the loss of parking for the school and loss of privacy for properties nearby.

St Francis Catholic Primary School shares a car park with St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

After the redevelopment, the spaces available would be reduced from 58 to 45, with 14 of these to be allocated to the school.

One comment asked that a planning condition should be included to ensure the number of pupils attending St Francis Catholic Primary School remains unchanged after the redevelopment.

The proposals said the school currently has capacity for 210 children which will remain the same after the scheme is finished.

There are 10 full-time and 18 part-time members of staff which will also remain ‘consistent’.

A string of conditions, including a travel plan, the removal of the temporary classrooms after the development is finished, and a playing field restoration scheme, must be met.

The Windsor and Ascot Development Management Committee will make a final decision at a York House meeting next week.