GAZETTE & HERALD: A £1.6 MILLION extension to Charter Primary School in Chippenham got underway this week.

The extension will feature four new permanent classrooms to replace a number of existing mobile classrooms. There will also be a new play area, an enlarged staff room, a new office, two group rooms and toilet facilities.

A further two-classroom unit has been designed specifically to provide a centre for children with autistic spectrum disorders.

The centre will also have a quiet room, a sensory room, an information technology room and two speech therapy rooms.

The building should be ready for pupils to move in early in 2006.

Nancy Bryant, Wiltshire County Council's cabinet member for education, said: "This extension to Charter School will provide much more suitable accommodation than the mobile classrooms the children have been using.

"The new centre for children with autistic spectrum disorders will provide the very best facilities for them, enabling them to be educated within a mainstream school environment."

Funding for the extension has come from money released by the sale of land adjoining the school belonging to Chippenham Borough Lands Charity. The proceeds from the land sale were designated for educational facilities as part of the planning agreement for the neighbouring development.

Desna Allen, chairman of the Borough Lands Charity, said: "We were delighted to be able to secure funds for the extension and to make sure that they were used in Chippenham for local people and local children."