Wates Construction has been awarded a £6.1m contract by Leeds City Council to build an extension to Little London Primary School on Meanwood Street in Leeds.

Work is already underway by the main contractor and will see the building expand to become a three-form entry school to accommodate 630 pupils at Key Stage Two.

Designed by NPS Group and Halliday Clark, the new scheme will include the creation of 2,329 sq ft of new teaching spaces and will also include the refurbishment of the existing school buildings.

The project will also see Wates rebuild the adjacent community centre to include a new Neighbourhood Housing Office as well as delivering new parking provision for the school.

Phil Harrison, managing director, Wates Construction North, commented: “Wates has a proven track record in delivering value-driven, inspirational education environments in Yorkshire and it’s our breadth of experience in building schools that places us as an ideal construction partner for Little London Primary School.

“The school will remain fully open throughout the works and we have an excellent site team in place that will meticulously manage the health, safety and wellbeing of staff, students and parents.”

Throughout the project a series of employment and training opportunities will be created, including a project-based apprentice, a series of site visits and workshops for local students and work experience placements through schools, colleges and job centres.

The project has been procured through the YORbuild construction framework, one of a suite of construction frameworks, which offer a competitive procurement solution for Local Authorities, Public Sector and Third Sector bodies and added value for their communities.

The YOR frameworks have all been developed to achieve efficiencies through the fast track tendering of public building works whilst maintaining a strong focus on core priorities of employment and skills, economic regeneration and sustainability.