By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Mumby
A brand-new classroom at a popular Frome school will cost nearly £911,000 to design and build, Somerset Council has confirmed.
Trinity Church of England First School lies on Nunney Road at the town’s western edge, within the Frome Safer School Streets zone (where numerous measures have been implemented to make it safer for children to walk and cycle to school).
The school is currently over capacity, with its additional children having to be taught within the purpose-built nursery area as a short-term workaround.
To remedy the situation, Somerset Council will spend up to £910,930 on delivering a new 30-pupil classroom on site – with the funding being sourced entirely from local housing developments.
As of October 2025 (the most recent figures available), the school had 294 pupils on its roll, with additional children expected to enrol there in the next two to three years.
The council has a legal duty to ensure that sufficient school places are available within walking distance of pupils’ homes – and is seeking to cut costs within its school transport budget as part of its ongoing mission to become more financially sustainable.
Rose Stokes, a senior officer within the council’s education places strategy team, said, “Trinity First School is currently operating above its main school capacity, with some statutory school age children being taught in a nursery building that was not designed for this purpose.
“We must act to ensure that all children have access to appropriate learning environments.
“The proposed classroom will help meet this need and support the school’s ability to deliver high-quality education.
“The classroom will be added to the end of an existing building, which is the most cost-effective and practical location.
“We have been working closely with the headteacher and the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership, and they are all supportive of the plans to create the additional classroom.”
The total budget for the new classroom is £910,930, which includes all fees associated with construction, ICT and provision of classroom furniture.
This funding must be committed in its entirety by June 2027, due to restrictions in the original legal agreements for the housing developments which provided this funding. In light of this, construction is likely to begin in the coming months with a view to the additional classroom entering into use by September 2027.
Pictured: Trinity CE First School. Picture by Daniel Mumby
