Children at a Bolton primary school will be moving out of cabins and into classrooms soon now that a major extension has been approved.

The project will see a new two storey, four classroom building constructed at Gaskell Primary School on Thomas Holden Street, Halliwell and will be used to teach children who until now have had to make do with temporary classrooms in the car park.

The extension plans were first lodged in April this year and have now been unanimously approved by Bolton Council’s planning committee.

Cllr Elaine Sherrington, who sits on the committee, said: “I’d just let to say that isn’t it wonderful that we should be building something to get children out of temporary classrooms?

“It certainly makes a huge difference to their lives and education so I’m supporting it.”

The extension will be built to the southeast of the main school building with a link corridor put up between the two.

The Bolton News:

The plans will see a two floor building with four classrooms constructed 

The two-storey building will include two classrooms, with cloakrooms and toilets on each floor connected by a central staircase and a lift along with another disabled toilet on the first floor.

Until now, Gaskell Primary has not had enough space in its main building and around 120 of the school’s 420 pupils, have been taught in temporary classrooms put up in the school car park.

This had a knock-on effect, meaning that car parking space was lost and staff had no option but to park in a nearby church.

The numbers of teachers and other staff will stay the same, with 27 working full time and 28 working part time.

The plans come as part of a wider plan by Bolton Council to support the expansion of schools in order to cope with growing pupil numbers across the borough.

In Gaskell Primary’s case, the school received a £1million funding boost in August last year to help it cope with the additional spaces.

The funding will now be used for the new expansion, one of several the school has undergone in recent years.