PUPILS at a Cheltenham school have had a big say in designing a trendy coffee shop-style catering area.
Work has started on creating the facility in the sixth form at Balcarras School in Charlton Kings.
Headteacher Chris Healy said the plan was to finish the work in the summer, ready for the start of the next school year.
He said it formed part of a £300,000 development at the East End Road school that would also see the main school's dining room being extended, as well as the finance office. Planning permission is being sought from Cheltenham Borough Council.
Mr Healy said demand for catering at the 1,350-pupil school had risen greatly, meaning that the main dining room would be extended again, just two years after it had been enlarged.
Regarding the sixth form plan, he said this was needed because some sixth-formers wanted a more sophisticated eating area of their own.
"They can eat in the school dining room, but a lot of them go out into the village because they feel they've outgrown the facilities for the main school. They want something a bit more upmarket.
"We're going to try to provide them with a sort of cafe-style atmosphere," he said.
A committee of sixth-formers helped school bosses come up with the designs.
