MARLBOROUGH’S new multi-million pound primary school is edging closer to becoming a reality and construction could start within months.

Residents and parents gathered tonight at St Mary’s Infant Primary School to get a first look at the proposed site plans before they are submitted to Wiltshire Council.

Currently children attend St Mary’s Infant School in George Lane until they are seven and then move up to St Peter’s Junior School in The Parade. However, the new single-storey school, adjacent to the St Mary’s building, will see the two amalgamate and be renamed Marlborough St Mary’s Primary School.

It is set to open in September 2017 and is being built by Kier Construction, who hope to be on site by July if plans are approved. There will be capacity for 420 pupils plus a resource base for 20 youngsters who have special educational needs.

Mark Thomas, chairman of the temporary governing body of the schools, thinks the plans are fantastic.

He said: “Particularly for children who have special education needs because quite often they cannot transfer from St Mary’s to St Peter’s because they do not have disabled facilities as they are on different floors. This is why we spent a lot of time trying to get the single-storey option and is part of what contributed to the delay.

“I have attended all the design meetings and I am really genuinely pleased with the way it is looking. It is sort of a bit quirky the shape of it because it is on quite a sloping site, but I think it is really great.”

Some of the features of the new school are a junior wing with eight classrooms, an infant wing with four classrooms and two reception classrooms, a studio, large main hall, library and special educational needs resource base, as well as a garden of reflection.

There will be entrance points from Ducks Meadow and Van Diemen's Close, as well as a large playing field that stretches behind the police station in George Lane.

The current school building will be demolished and form a car park during the final phase of the build.

Next month the schools’ governing body will be discussing what colour the uniform will be before a new logo is designed.

School governor Simon Taylor, whose son Tommy goes to St Mary’s and daughter Kitty goes to St Peter’s, said: “It is exactly what we want for the town.

“The resource base for kids with special educational needs formed the heart of what we wanted to do with the school.

"It has also got a really low impact on the surrounding area because it is such a low building. I think they have done a fantastic job of capturing everything we want."