First part of plans to bring 3,175 additional school places across Hampshire complete
Three new schools are opening across the county in time for the start of the new academic year
Hampshire’s three brand-new primary schools are all set to welcome pupils this month, marking the county’s largest expansion of school places in recent memory.
The new primaries; Hounsome Fields in Basingstoke, Stanhope in Aldershot, and Newlands, west of Waterlooville, are located in areas experiencing significant housing development and population growth.
Their openings, initially to Year R pupils, signal the successful completion of the first phase of Hampshire County Council’s three-year £502 million investment in school buildings, which aims to deliver 10 new schools and 3,175 additional school places by September 2028.
The programme also includes three new special schools, three school expansions, and 11 projects to enhance provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), adding 114 new places.
The new schools opening this September will all include eight-place SEND units from 2026.
Roz Chadd, who is the lead member for children's services at Hampshire County Council, says that it's an incredibly exciting time.
"I've been in the Hampshire cabinet for just over five years now and I can't remember when we had actually 3 new schools coming all together at the same time, it's brilliant."
Chadd emphasised the importance that new schools have in developing a community in a new area.
"The schools really do help build a community. The parents get the opportunity to interact with each other and the children do, they really do form an important part of the local community for a new development."
With over 20,000 students applying for school places, Chadd says that the county council has a responsibility to provide enough.
"The County Council does have a statute of duty to ensure that there are enough school places across Hampshire. So with a new development coming on, we need to make sure that they are those families moving into those new developments have access to a a school.
So these three new primary schools have been in areas where there has been significant development which attract many younger families."
Roz Chadd added that she hopes that the new schools provide the opportunities for people to thrive, as well as that the children enjoy them.
"I just really hope that the children and the parents love those new schools when they start in them over the next few weeks and that every child really thrives in those settings, which is what we all want for our our children."