YOUNGSTERS will return to a Poole first school in September to find it has been instantly expanded over the summer holidays .

Heatherlands First School in Library Road, Parkstone, had nine new classrooms craned into position in a week.

The work is part of a long-held ambition by the school to become a primary school, taking ages four to 11, instead of a first school for ages four to eight. This is part of Borough of Poole’s change in the age of transfer and will take effect from September 2013.

Ready-made classroom frames arrived on 40 lorries, having been constructed at a factory in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

To accommodate the additional year groups the school needed to get bigger and with not much time left, the architects decided on an instant solution to complete the project on time.

“This is the first time off-site construction has been used on this scale for a school build in Poole,” said Cllr Janet Walton, cabinet member for children’s services.

“It is the perfect solution for Heatherlands as we are working to such a tight schedule in a built-up residential area. These modular buildings are a long way from the temporary classrooms used to manage the baby boom in the 50s and 60s. As sustainable, permanent structures with a lifespan of 60-years, they are proving a popular choice.”

Paul Gale, area director of construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall, said: “Modular buildings offer a good solution to the challenge of expanding a school in a very tight time frame.”

Headteacher Sally Burns has told the Echo: “Our vision is that the pupils and the community will be proud of Heatherlands Primary School.”