Winchester University Academy Trust to sponsor new school being built in Eastleigh

A NEW primary school in Eastleigh is to be sponsored by University of Winchester Academy Trust.

Proposals for Hampshire County Council to design and build a brand new £6 million pound school in Chestnut Avenue have been brought a step closer following the announcement that the trust will be the new school’s academy sponsor.


The trust is also the sponsor of the new Barton Farm Academy primary school, set to serve the new Kings Barton development.

Hampshire County Council’s executive member for education, councillor Peter Edgar, said: “With demand for school places set to rise in Eastleigh, owing to the new housing development in the area of Chestnut Avenue, we have been planning for some time a new primary school to serve the development.

“I am pleased to hear that the University of Winchester Academy Trust has been named as the sponsor, and look forward to continuing our excellent working relationship with university colleagues.”

Professor Joy Carter, vice-chancellor of the University of Winchester and chairwoman of the University of Winchester Academy Trust, said: “We are delighted to be named as sponsor for the new school and look forward to working in partnership with Hampshire County Council and the local community to bring our distinctive values-driven educational ethos to Eastleigh.

“Our vision is for a school which will offer inspirational learning experiences for all children and nurture a lifelong love of learning and the ambition to achieve their potential.”

The new school, for children aged 4 to 11, will be designed to encourage community use, with a learning resource area at the heart of the plan.

It will serve the new housing development at North Stoneham Park, a 62-hectare site identified in Eastleigh Borough Council’s Local Plan 2011-29 as a strategic location for development.

The site is being developed by Highwood Group Ltd and will include 1,100 new homes, accommodation for the elderly, community facilities and landscaped public spaces, as well as the new primary school.

Hampshire County Council will design the new school and manage the building project.

The school site is set to be handed over in spring 2019, with the opening set for September 2020.