WILTSHIRE Council have interviewed potential sponsors for the new primary school at Ridgeway Farm.

The school, which was a condition of the 700 home development still under construction on the border of West Swindon, is set to open in September 2016 and will be an academy feeding into to Purton’s Bradon Forest School.

Design plans and construction has already begun and the vision is for the one-form entry school to build upon existing links with the North Wiltshire Learning Cluster Group.

The name for the new school has not yet been decided, but is expected to draw upon connections within Purton. Better access routes are also expected between the new housing development and the town.

Sponsorship candidatesCandidates for sponsorship were interviewed during May ahead of the school opening its doors next September.

Initially, it would admit 105 pupils, but is due to increase capacity steadily until filling its books of 210 children by September 2018.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council said: “Historically, people from the Purton community worked at GWR in Swindon and the community grew as a result.

“It retains a strong element of people who commute to Swindon to work but is also under threat from the growth of urban Swindon. It is a very rural community with narrow roads and poor public transport. However, It is also used as a cut-through to Swindon which creates a high volume of traffic and bottlenecks.

“The community’s future aspirations for the school include the new provider to establish and retain strong links to the existing Primary Schools and Bradon Forest Secondary School.

“To promote the area’s rural identity and Wiltshire’s education ethos – Purton is a Wiltshire community first and foremost.

“It would be helpful to create a designated walking or cycling route from the new school and housing estate to Purton town and the Bradon Forest school.

“Ideally, the name of the new school would reflect local Purton characteristics or landmarks to further link it to the town.”

Parents wanting to use thewishing to make use of the new school may be allowed to step outside of the regular admissions process.

“For September 2016 applications it may be necessary to provide parents with the opportunity to apply outside of the co-ordinated admissions scheme as agreed between the schools and the Local Authority,” said the spokesman. “This is because the school governance may not be far enough advanced as a recognised education establishment. Therefore, potential applicants may not be able to apply under the normal application process.

“If this situation arises, admissions services in Wiltshire will make available a separate application form for the purposes of applying solely for the new school. Parents who apply on the separate form will also have the opportunity to apply under the normal application process and name three other schools as part of the coordinated admissions scheme.”