Edinburgh School to be in Class of its own

It's out with the old and in with the new in Walthamstow, with plans now complete for a brand new primary school and community learning centre on Queen's Road.

Once constructed, the school – on the previous site of the borough's education centre – will replace nearby Edinburgh School; tripling its student capacity. On top of that (quite literally) the third-storey of the £15m facility will also be a dedicated home for the borough's adult learning service, CLaSS.

Cllrs Geraldine Reardon and Liaquat Ali recently visited the site to discuss plans with constructors Bouygues and HLM Architects.

“There are schools in the borough already opening their doors to the public,” said Cllr Ali, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Services, “but to have two entirely separate organisations here, working together under one roof, is a huge achievement.”

Cllr Reardon, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Arts and Culture, added: "The school and CLaSS have worked together to create a first-rate facility for everyone in the local community. By pooling their resources, children and adults alike will benefit from this wonderful service at less overall cost to the borough; it's a win-win result.”

Elsewhere on the site, the wider community will benefit further still, thanks to a bespoke café being part of the final plans.

Lionel Christolomme, Managing Director of Bouygues UK said: “The new facilities at Queen's Road will bring huge benefits to the wider community of Waltham Forest and will help to address the Primary School requirements in the borough. The scheme is progressing well on site and we look forward to completion in April 2011.”

Richard Parsons, Director at HLM Architects, added: “The new school will not only increase the number of classrooms in the borough but, using the latest design standards and materials will greatly improve the learning environment for the benefit of both the pupils and the teaching staff.”

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