FAQs

What is the Hatherop Big Build and what is it trying to achieve? 

Hatherop Big Build is the name of a community-led campaign to raise £1.5m for much needed building development work at Hatherop Primary School, a happy and thriving school located in the heart of the Cotswolds, serving the villages of Hatherop, Coln St Aldywns, Quenington and surrounding area.

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Why is the building work needed? 

Hatherop Primary is oversubscribed, overcrowded and facing increasing risk of partial closure due to the dilapidated state of one of its prefab Year 5/6 classroom. As a result, the school requires urgent improvements to make it safer and more sustainable for current pupil numbers. 

The classroom, known as the Elliot Building, was erected in the early 1990s as a temporary solution to increase pupil intake. More than 30 years later, the building has far exceeded its lifespan with a surveyor’s report in 2023 stating that the “risk of structural failure and the need for unplanned repairs is significant and will increase as the building ages and deteriorates further”. During the winter, the building’s inadequate heating system and insulation means the internal temperature struggles to get above 15C on cold days, while in summer it regularly exceeds 30C, making for a very uncomfortable teaching and learning environment.  

The school is too small for its allocated 84-pupil intake overall, with the lack of space limiting wider learning opportunities. Most notably is the school hall, which is half the size it should be and is very narrow, meaning staff are unable to teach indoor PE safely or put on whole school events or productions. Furthermore, the Year 4 classroom is currently a little over half the size it should be according to government recommendations, making teaching and learning challenging. The school also lacks adequate intervention space for teachers to best support the school’s high needs pupils and has insufficient storage capacity for equipment. 

In addition, the school office is presently situated on the first floor and does not have a direct line of sight to the main entrance gate. This arrangement means that visitors must pass by classrooms before reaching the office for sign-in, raising significant security and safeguarding issues. 

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What's the plan? 

A comprehensive three-phase plan has been developed in close collaboration with staff and governors that will directly address the needs outlined above and which is proportionate, economically viable and in keeping with the school’s historic building and surroundings. 

Phase 1 will involve relocating the school office on the first floor to a new, dedicated lobby on the ground floor that will allow staff to have clear sight of the school’s main entrance and strengthen security and safeguarding. The existing office will then be used as a dedicated intervention space.

The second phase will involve extending the existing Year 4 classroom, while the third and largest phase will see the demolition of the Elliot Building to make space for a new and much bigger school hall with vastly improved facilities, including extra storage space and toilets. The new hall will also be made available to the local community outside of school hours. The existing school hall will be turned into the Year 5/6 classroom with a small library and intervention space. 

For more information, take a look at the planning application online here. To view the architect’s drawings of what the proposed building work will look like, check out our image gallery here. 

When will the three phases be carried out and how much will they cost? 

The combined cost of the building work is estimated to be around £1,500,000. Depending on the success of the fundraising campaign, the plan is to start Phase 1 in July 2025, with the project fully completed by early 2027. Specifically:  

• Phase 1 is expected to be carried out during the summer holidays in 2025 and estimated to cost £150,000. 

• Phase 2 is expected to be carried out either in parallel to Phase 1 or the following summer and is estimated to cost £185,000. 

• Phase 3 is expected to start in summer 2026 and be completed by January 2027, at an estimated cost of £1.2m. 

 

How was the plan developed? 

A dedicated Buildings Working Group was established in early 2022 to assess the school's requirements and formulate an actionable plan for enhancements, after Covid-19 had amplified the school’s lack of space and restricted how many kids could come in and learn. The group adopted a measured approach, gathering evidence and working closely with staff and governors throughout the process. 

In 2022, architects Thinking Buildings were to carry out a feasibility study and compare the school site to the Department for Education’s area guidelines for mainstream schools. The study confirmed that the school has significant space shortfalls for its pupil numbers, with the school hall 78m2 smaller than recommended, its Year 4 classroom 24m2 smaller and the library, admin area and storage space 6m2, 11m2 and 10m2 too small, respectively. 

A subsequent survey of the Elliot Building’s condition in 2023 concluded the building had “exceeded its original ‘temporary’ designed service life” and was “no longer fit for purpose”. 

The group explored a range of solutions in partnership with staff before presenting the current proposals to parents and the local community for feedback in November 2023, which was unanimously positive and supportive. The final plans were submitted to Cotswold District Council on 1 December 2023 and approved on 13 March 2024.  

View the application documents online here. 

 

How are you planning to raise £1.5m? 

A dedicated fundraising committee has been set up to galvanise interest and support for the project and to co-ordinate fundraising efforts. The plan is to fund the project primarily via a combination of trusts, foundations, and high net worth individuals; businesses; community events; pupil-led initiatives; and individual/group fundraising activities. Previous efforts to tap into statutory sources of funding (e.g. the Conditional Improvement Fund, Gloucestershire County Council) have so far been met with obstacles, although the committee will continue to explore these and other opportunities as and when they arise.

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How will disruption to pupils’ education be minimised during the project? 

All potentially disruptive works will be carried out over the holidays. Once the Elliot Building has been demolished, the existing hall will become the Years 5/6 classroom, with wider learning transferred to the nearby church or outside.  

The construction works will be completely separated and secured with Heras fencing and there will be no need for pupils to cross the building site at any time. The school will manage access to the nearby recreation ground it uses for sports and other activities via an alternative route.  

 

How will traffic disruption be minimised? 

The Buildings Working Group is developing a Construction Traffic Management Plan to address traffic issues that will be discussed and agreed with the Parish Council and near neighbours once a contractor has been appointed.  

The completed work will not require any additional parking requirements or vehicular journeys since pupil numbers will remain stable. 

 

Did the planning surveys highlight any issues with the build? 

The surveys have found no major issues with the proposed works. Tree and ecology surveys confirmed that the works would not detrimentally affect tree root systems or wildlife. A public sewer under the temporary classroom may have to be re-routed, depending upon Thames Water’s requirements.

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What sustainability measures will be included? 

The proposed building works have been designed to meet current best practice levels of fabric insulation and air tightness, and will conform to the energy and sustainability targets required by current Building Regulations. The project will also be looking at how the school can further improve its energy efficiency, such as through using heat pumps and passive ventilation.  

Solar panels have been proposed on the southern side roof pitch of the new school hall to generate electricity and reduce fossil fuel emissions, subject to further detailed solar analysis. The extensions will also, in so far as possible, use natural and low polluting materials with low embodied carbon. 

The proposals have also been designed to minimise the ecological impact of the works. No trees or hedges are to be removed during construction and the only loss is of two small areas of mown grass that are considered of low ecological value. The majority of the amenity grass will be retained as existing and made good if affected. The proposals include further biodiversity enhancements including the provision of bird and bat boxes.

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What materials will be used? 

Stonework will be in local Cotswold limestone. Timber cladding will be in western red cedar as it is durable, stable and has a natural finish (eventually turning silvery grey). The pitched roof will be a metal standing seam with pre-weathered finish. Windows and doors will be factory-painted aluminium in dark grey. Cotswold District Council feedback is that these materials are appropriate to the sensitive site context.