COMMONWEAL School could be moving to the Front Garden within the next five years.

Governors have voted "in principle" to move to the new Southern Development Area, known as Swindon's Front Garden.

They say the move is the most realistic way to improve the school, as rebuilding the exiting site in The Mall in Old Town would be too expensive.

And Swindon Council has promised the new purpose-built school will be built and ready for use by September 2010 or maybe earlier.

The school's chairman of governors David Brown said: "We have made an in-principle decision to go to the SDA.

"We explored two options, to develop the existing site or to move.

"There is no doubt that the overriding factor in the governing body's decision was the fact that the current buildings and facilities are in poor condition, inadequate and need to be renewed or replaced urgently.

"We have had to weigh up the value of the school's relationship with the Old Town community with the availability of funds for a new building in the SDA and the risk that funding would not be available if the school were to stay on the current site.

"Although some people will see it as a regrettable decision, we actually think it is a positive one."

Mr Brown said a new school would help Commonweal in its quest to be seen as the best performing arts school in the south west.

The governors are now drawing up a list of terms and conditions for Swindon Council before the move is finalised.

These will include keeping the performing arts status and a building which has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the school.

Commonweal's existing building at The Mall is almost 80 years old and needs to be modernised.

The council paid for a feasibility study, which looked at how to improve the school building and facilities and concluded that moving was the most economical way of regenerating Commonweal.

It has taken almost six months for the governors to make their decision and a public meeting was held in January to discuss the proposals.

But some parents have expressed their concern about the proposals and launched a petition in January, collecting 450 signatures against the move. They said they wanted the school to stay in the heart of the community.

Caroline Morgan, 36, and her husband Steve, 36, a sales director of Field Rise, have two children, Oliver, nine, and Georgia, six, at Lethbridge Primary School.

The couple, who hoped to send their children to Commonweal, are disappointed by the decision and say they had hoped the public would be invited to discuss the proposals again before the final decision was made.

"We are very disappointed at the decision," said Mrs Morgan. "I just feel let down and I'm sure parents will want to look at this again.

"Many people believe a school should be in the heart of the community and this is going to be another old building in Old Town that will be knocked down and the space used for more housing."

The governors will publicise the full list of the terms and conditions when they have been finalised.