Kitebrook Prep School, Little Compton, outlines vision to enhance its facilities
A SCHOOL in Little Compton has submitted plans to create additional space for music and drama provision.
And it also wants to turn a disused barn, previously used for accommodation, into a multi-purpose room that can cater for a single year group of up to 40 pupils.
Kitebrook Prep, a day and boarding school for three- to 13-year-olds, wants to renovate The Thatch because it has fallen into a “state of disrepair” and is a “blight on the landscape”.
Having already expanded to 300 pupils, the school has added several new buildings in support of its growth.
However, the current buildings are now at full capacity.
The school, which has no plans to expand beyond 300 pupils, said in a planning document that there is no centralised music or drama department and that refurbishing The Thatch would “greatly enhance” this offering.
It added the space could also be used for small group teaching.
There are no changes proposed to the exterior other than infilling the door to the east elevation to form a new window and upgrading existing elements including stonework repointing, new rainwater goods and decoration.
Inside, the existing layout will remain the same but a full upgrade of finishings, fittings and services would be carried out.
“Renovation of this building will restore its appearance and return it to a standard that is in keeping with the rest of the estate and the wider surrounding areas,” the school said.
Meanwhile, the existing barn has not been used for living purposes for decades, according to a planning document, and is currently being used for the storage of grounds equipment.
A report said the barn was in a “precarious state” and the new proposed building would be “modestly larger” than what it is now.
Overall, the school says the scheme would bring a currently vacant building back into use and that the new multi-function room provides much-needed open space for its pupils.
Stratford District Council has until 30th January 2023 to decide on the plans.
