Funding for Myton School's new £6m sixth form block has been approved – and it will double up as temporary accommodation for Oakley Grove School pupils until their own classrooms are built.

Members of Warwickshire County Council's cabinet gave their support for the Department for Education cash to be allocated when they met this week.

The new self-contained 18 classroom block will include dining facilities and will eventually provide up to 160 additional post-16 places in the Leamington and Warwick area.

A report considered by councillors at their meeting explained how the building would initially be used by Year 7 pupils from September 2023 ahead of their own school being built.

It said: "The new teaching block will be sufficient to accommodate 180 Yr 7 pupils for an academic year before it converts to its long term use as the Myton School sixth form. 

"The location on site allows for easy separation from the main building to ensure both schools can operate independently. In addition, Myton School have advised the tennis courts adjacent to the proposed new-build could be allocated for Oakley Grove School's outside/playground space and timetabling amended to allow full use of the existing sports facilities for PE."

The total cost of the project has been put at £6.130m.

Myton School's sixth form was one of a number of projects around the county included in the latest education capital programme and the list also included Sunbeams Nursery, which is based at Radford Semele CofE School.

That £62,000 project involves creating a new and improved outdoor classroom area where children can learn in all weathers.

The cabinet report added: "The setting is the only pre-school to service Radford Semele and surrounding areas and the current outdoor area restricts the number of child places that can be offered. The project will enable the pre-school to fill its capacity and offer ten additional places."

The school is funding £5,000 of the work with the remainder being paid for developer funding earmarked for pre-school provision in Radford Semele.