Tattenhoe Park School will be at the Heart of its Community

10.15.29pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 12th Aug 2007

Building work started on a new multi-million pound primary school in Tattenhoe Park. The bulldozers have started clearing the land for a 420-pupil primary school to serve a new community of 1,700 homes planned for the area.

The new building will have many environmentally-friendly features and will be designed around a central courtyard area, offering protected social space for students, overlooked by bright and airy teaching spaces.

The primary school is being built to meet the needs of children aged from four to 11 years living in Tattenhoe Park and Kingsmead South. It is due to open in 2008 in time for the new school year and has already started accepting admissions. In addition there will be a 30-place nursery on site.

The predominately single-storey school will be at the centre of the new community development focused around an old-style town square, and next to new community facilities and playing fields.

Another main feature of the school building, designed by Milton Keynes Council's design arm, Architecture MK, is a library and parents room overlooked by a gallery.

Liberal Democrat councillor Euan Henderson, cabinet member responsible for Milton Keynes' school building programme, said: "Milton Keynes Council is investing millions of pounds in new schools and Tattenhoe Park Primary School promises to be another excellent example of using modern design to provide the best environment for our children to learn."