Goosnargh primary school could double in size to cater for growing village

Oliverson’s Church of England Primary School. Pic credit: Oliverson’s Church of England Primary School Facebook page.

A Goosnargh primary school could double in size to make up for a huge shortfall in potential school places.

A proposal to double the intake at Oliverson’s Church of England Primary School in Goosnargh will go before Lancashire County Council (LCC) Cabinet this Thursday (5 September).

The LCC report ahead of a proposed public consultation states: “Pupil projections indicate there will be a shortfall of primary school places in the Goosnargh and Grimsargh planning area in Preston, and the adjoining planning area of Longridge in Ribble Valley from 2025/26.

“To address the increased demand in these two areas, approval is being sought to commence a public consultation in relation to a proposal to expand Goosnargh Oliverson’s Church of England Primary School, increasing the school’s published admission number from 30 to 60.

“This would gradually increase the capacity of the school from 210 to 420 places. It is intended to provide the expansion initially through a one-year temporary increase to the published admission number from 30 to 60 from September 2025 facilitated by the provision of temporary accommodation.

“The expansion would then become permanent from September 2026, following the completion of the capital build project.”

The report’s recommendation is for Cabinet to agree that a public consultation be undertaken on the proposal to permanently expand the primary school.

The proposal comes within the text of huge swathes of house building across Goosnargh, Grimsargh and Longridge in recent years which has seen large tracts of farmland built upon.

One of numerous criticisms from residents of these areas has related to available school places to meet the growing population, along with fears over availability of GP places and so on.

A copy of the report can be viewed here.

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