A WESTON referral centre is set to undergo a massive overhaul after a �750,000 budget was agreed for a complete refurbishment.

The Larch Centre in Baytree Road is one of five pupil referral sites in North Somerset and specialises in teaching pupils with a history of underachievement, poor behaviour and low school attendance.

The contract for the refurbishment work, which will see the school upgraded to a Key Stage 2/3 standard, has now been handed to Wilmott Dixon Construction Ltd by North Somerset Council.

The company has been awarded a construction contract of �711,126, with the approved budget for the project standing at a total of �750,000.

The revamp includes plans to knock down the old hall and kitchen, and replace it with a new hall, teaching kitchen and classroom, and also to replace the building’s toilets.

Councillor Jeremy Latchford, North Somerset Council’s executive member for children and young people’s services who decided to award the contract, said: “The centre makes a huge difference to children and pupils who would otherwise drop out of the system, many of them would subsequently go into a very poor future.

“This centre, which is one of the best pupil referral centres in the country, is a very important service for a number of children.

“This will give the pupils a much better quality of building, there are lots of problems with the building at the moment.

“Now we hope that we can get this up and running as soon as possible.”