CHRISTCHURCH'S new primary school will be run by Twynham School - if planning permission is granted this week.

Approval for the school in Marsh Lane, off Fairmile Road, is set to be granted by Dorset County Council's regulatory committee on Thursday.

And if it is given the go-ahead, the application will then go before the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, due to the building being on the Green Belt.

Twynham Learning was given permission to sponsor the new primary school by the Department for Education recently.

Currently, 90 children from reception to year two are being taught on the Twynham site, as part of the temporary 'school within a school' set-up until the new facility is built.

And although the school is classed as a free school - as all new schools since May 2015 are classified - it will operate as an academy under Twynham Learning along with Twynham and The Grange School.

Dr Terry Fish, executive headteacher, said: “We are absolutely delighted that our application to be the formal sponsor of the new school was accepted.

"This means that we can now be sure that the new school will be known as Twynham Primary School and be part of the Twynham Learning family.

"The children are already making superb progress due to the excellent headteacher, Mr Jon Chapple, and his team. Knowing that the school will bear the name and uniform of Twynham means that we can now plan for the future with some confidence."

He added: "Having an extremely high quality primary school at Marsh Lane will not only meet the needs of the families who live in West Christchurch who would otherwise find themselves without a school, but bearing Twynham’s name is likely to add significant value to this already thriving community."

Jon Chapple, headteacher of Twynham Primary School, said: “Being part of such a strong group of schools will be very beneficial for the children in West Christchurch.

"It develops a model for the education for these children from four years old right through to eighteen. It is very exciting to be part of this in such changing times in education. We now want to secure the new site so that children from this area have access to the best start in their life and can be assured of stability as they develop.”