A SCHOOL in Sunningdale is one of eight schools in Berkshire to have benefitted from building projects to increase capacity.

Charters School, in Charters Road, saw works to create more space completed in time for the autumn term as part of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's (RBWM) £30 million expansion programme.

Over the next six years, the school will provide 210 additional places, and a project to build a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) block of 11 general classrooms, two science laboratories and also a dining room extension is complete and is already being used by pupils.

Cox Green and Newlands Girls' schools were also completed ahead of the new term, with work underway at Dedworth Middle School to create eight new classrooms and a new sports hall set to be complete by the end of the month.

Improvements and expansions at Windsor Boys and Windsor Girls’ schools were completed during 2017, which included new or refurbished classrooms at both, and a new entrance and dining room extension at Windsor Boys.

RBWM's current secondary school expansion programme also includes work underway at Furze Platt Senior School, which is due to be completed in the autumn of 2019, and an expansion at St Peter’s Middle school, also expected to be finished by September 2019.

Pupil numbers in the borough, both primary and secondary continue to be monitored, and it is likely that the next big expansions would be due to additional housing being created within the next 15 years.

If all the expected homes are built in the borough, the RBWM expects to invest £277 million in school buildings and children’s services over the coming years, to give families in the borough the best start in life.

Cllr Natasha Airey, RBWM's cabinet member for children’s services, said: “These buildings are fantastic resources for our schools and communities and will enhance future learning. Our ambitious schools expansion programme will create thousands of pupil places and will give parents more choice when choosing a school for their child.

“We work with all 66 state funded schools all year round and over 88 percent of them are now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted."