"I’m delighted the Government has listened to Island residents, the Council and myself and made this important decision. Getting the right result has been a priority for myself and the Council and is the result of half a dozen meetings with Government ministers to make sure that they understood the strength of feeling on this issue.
"This is a victory for everyone involved but particularly for parents in the Bay area who made it clear this is what they wanted. Special thanks also goes to the Island’s Council, the cabinet member for education, Cllr Paul Brading, and the education officers for their critical work to get us to this point.
"However, it is important for us all to realise that this is not the end of a process but the beginning of one. Now that the future of Sandown has been provisionally agreed, we now need to make sure that we collectively focus on driving up education standards across the Island.
"I understand there will now be a consultation before the expansion can happen. However, today is a strong step forward towards our goal of this school becoming a centre of excellence for education on our Island. “