PLANS to erect new fencing at Knight’s Enham Junior School have been approved by Hampshire County Council.

The county council submitted the plans in June, proposing that a 3m high fence be erected around an existing playground at the school.

In planning documents, the council said: “The proposed fencing is designed to make part of the existing hard play area more versatile for formal sports and outdoor play and to stop balls accidentally going onto the rest of the school site.”

They said that by constructing the fencing, this would allow it to be used as part of the sports curriculum, as well as still being available for playtime by pupils throughout the year.

In order to achieve this, some objects, such as a basketball hoop and pull-up bar, will need to be relocated to make way for the fencing to be installed.

The fencing was considered by Andover Town Council’s Planning Committee in the same month, with Councillor Barbara Long saying: “I think that would be a fairly good thing to do, I’ve got no objection to that.” They entered no objection.

Test Valley Borough Council also submitted no objection to the plans, and the county council confirmed they would be moving ahead with the proposals on July 14.

The fencing upgrade comes following Knights Enham’s 50th anniversary, where the school’s façade has been given a new lease of life by the addition of a variety of knight artworks representing the school’s values.

Values including independence, resilience and respect were selected from amongst the designs of pupils at the school, such as Arwyn Foley and Phoebe Hale. Once selected, they were then refined by an art student at Andover College, Isabel, into murals.

These artworks were then brought to life by Paul Hawthorn, who painted them on the outside of the school.

Headteacher Dan Whitehouse said this was a way of ‘giving the school a new identity’ as it looks to the next 50 years of education.

Construction of the new fencing will now begin in due course.