New Isle of Ely Primary School premises to be given all-clear by planners

How Ely's new primary school will look (Image: Archant)

The 630-place Isle of Ely Primary School welcomed its first intake last month but is currently sharing premises with St Mary’s Primary School, in High Barns, until 2015, when it will move into its own building.

The new school is being built in the north of Ely, off Cam Drive, to serve a development of some 1,200 houses which will be built over the next 20 years.

The plans will go before the county council’s planning committee next Thursday and have been recommended for approval.

The school it is set to feature a purpose built after-school club, 52-place early years facility, outdoor classrooms and sports fields.

There will be 21 classrooms, large and small halls, and a library, and, when completed will create up to 68 full and part-time jobs.

The school has been designed to be built in two phases. The first phase will meet existing demand for pupil places in Ely and provide the school’s main facilities, nine class rooms and two pre-school classrooms.

The second phase will increase the school’s size to the full three-form entry to meet the demands arising from the North Ely Development.

Architects Frank Shaw Associates, which put the plans together, labelled them “inspirational”, saying: “The design allows for the creation of an inspirational learning environment within a well developed sustainable and robust building, with the provision of flexible and adaptable spaces which will meet changing educational needs.”

They added that the building would be climate conscious and home to a range of energy-saving features including heat recovery ventilation units, daylight-detecting lights and air source heat pumps.

The school will also be built to take advantage of maximum amounts of sunlight. Up to 130 cycle spaces will also be installed.