Children to start school in pre-fab buildings (From Times Series)

Children to start school in pre-fab buildings

11:18am Tuesday 14th July 2009 in Top Stories By Tomasz Johnson

CHILDREN starting school in some areas of the borough this year will be taught in temporary pre-fabricated buildings, due to the excessive demand for places.

Applications for schools in Finchley, Edgware and Colindale so greatly outweigh the number of spaces available that Barnet Council has been forced to pay up to £120,000 for extra buildings, which will be put up at short notice.

The buildings need to be in place by the beginning of the school year and only one firm which tendered for the contract, Servaccomm Redhall Limited, will be able to meet the deadline.

Colindale Primary School, Tudor School, Moss Hall Infants School, Danegrove Infants School and Deansbrook Infants school are all able to take extra pupils.

But three of the these schools will need to be expanded with the temporary buildings, and the money will come out of the authority's capital budget for children's services.