WORK to expand two Essex primary schools will begin in the coming weeks after final business cases were approved.

St Andrew’s CoE Primary School in North Weald Bassett and Pear Tree Mead Academy in Harlow will both be expanded for the new academic year.

The £1.9million project at St Andrew’s CoE Primary School will see a new infant block built, containing two reception and two year 1 classrooms.

An existing reception classroom will also be extended to create a new key stage 1 classroom, while the main hall will be extended and other rooms will be remodelled.

The works will create a further 105 places, increasing the school’s capacity from 315 pupils to 420 over seven years at an additional 15 reception pupils per year from September 2016.

At Pear Tree Mead Academy in Harlow, improvements will be made to existing buildings and an extension, containing four new classrooms, a library and group rooms, will be built.

The £1.7million project, which will link the former infant and junior school sites, will create a further 105 places, increasing the school’s capacity from 315 pupils to 420 over seven years at an extra 15 reception pupils per year.

The final business cases for both projects were approved last month, with work at St Andrew’s expected to start on 14 January 2016 and be completed by September. Works at Pear Tree Mead Academy will begin in February and are scheduled for completion in October, in advance of when the additional space is required.

Cllr Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “Pupil numbers in Essex have risen dramatically over recent years and projections suggest the increased demand for school places is likely to continue.

“As a council, we are committed to ensuring the county has the infrastructure it needs to grow and are planning to spend about £200 million over the next five years on creating new school places across Essex.

“I am delighted to see these projects getting underway and look forward to seeing the two schools grow.”