A NEW education centre specialising in English and maths for youngsters is set to open in Southampton

Explore Learning provides a drop-off educational scheme which will allow children aged between five and 14 years old to be taught while parents go shopping.

The specialist centre is funded by parents, who pay a monthly fee which allows them to leave their children there twice a week, and sessions last approximately an hour, after which children play games for 15 minutes.

On the firm’s website it says standard membership is £124 per month, and £50 to register.

An application to create the business in the former VIP Lounge, on Shirley High Street, was approved last week by Southampton City Council.

In its proposal, the school said: “Explore Learning Centres are located deliberately in large supermarkets, shopping centres and town centres. “Their locations enable parents and careers to undertake shopping or use other services while their children are attending a tuition session.

"The 75-minute session at an Explore Centre provides time for linked trips to take place, such as grocery shopping, visiting a café or using other services offered within the immediate vicinity.”

Explore Learning, which is registered with Ofsted, says new centres typically employ 20 members of staff, with between five and seven on duty at a time. The centre will be open between 9am and 8pm from Monday until Friday, 10am until 6pm on Saturdays and bank holidays, and 10am until 4pm on Sundays.

The application added: “There are approximately 48 schools within a three-mile radius of the proposed Explore Learning Centre at Shirley Town Centre. This is an excellent potential catchment area and reinforces the fact that the majority of the catchment will be from the local area.”