March/April 2022
t: 01454 300 400
info@bradleystokejournal.co.uk
13
Schools
Major build projects planned at local secondaries
T
he new year has seen progress being made on plans for major investment at two Olympus Academy Trust secondary schools that serve the Stokes. As previously reported, it was announced in July 2021 that a proposed scheme to rebuild Patchway Community School had been selected to receive funding through the government’s School Rebuilding Programme. The final amount of funding that will be made available for the Patchway school is still to be confirmed. According to a government press release, “funding for individual projects in the programme will be determined when the scope and delivery plans at each school are developed.”
Patchway rebuild
The Trust’s intention is to replace the main school buildings with a completely new school, although it is currently anticipated that the existing sports hall and floodlit sport pitches will be retained. It is working towards an opening in 2024 and recently reported that surveyors have been on site for several weeks gathering information. Details of rooming and facilities within the new building are currently being worked through. Depending on how plans for new housing developments in the Bristol North Fringe evolve, there may be a demand to increase the intake at Patchway or add
a primary phase. However, the government will only pay for a ‘straight replacement’, so any such expansion would require local authority funding. The Trust is therefore looking towards a design that has the capacity to expand at a future date.
Abbeywood expansion
Another Olympus secondary, Abbeywood Community School in Stoke Gifford, could also see building work in the next couple of years after South Gloucestershire Council confirmed an allocation of £4.5 million to permanently increase the school’s Year 7 intake from 180 to 240 students. The expansion is intended to meet an increased demand arising from new housing in the immediate area, an effect which can be expected to continue as 2,000 homes are built at East of Harry Stoke in the coming years. Olympus trustees agreed to a temporary ‘breech’ to 210 students in 2021, rising to 240 this year, but are insistent that an intake of this magnitude is unsustainable without the provision of new accommodation. Discussions with South Gloucestershire Council are said to be ongoing, with a view to having the building work completed in time for the 2023/24 academic year. Architects are currently examining several options, including adding a new ‘spoke’ to the existing building, raising
Abbeywood Community School, recently allocated £4.5 million for expansion
the height of part of the existing building or adding a satellite building. Olympus CEO, Dave Baker, said: “This is a great opportunity for our local communities to have high quality school facilities and sufficient school places where
they need them. In the case of Patchway, this is long overdue. We are committed to making sure the best possible educational provision is available in all our local communities – this has to start with buildings that are modern and fit for purpose.”
ERNEST TILL
SOUTH WEST & CO LTD
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS Electrical Test & Inspections / PAT testing Full and partial electrical rewires Consumer unit upgrade to 18th edition New or replacement switches / sockets / lights Shower installation Electric heating installation / service Smoke detector installation & servicing Security lighting Electric vehicle charging points Free, no obligation quotations
0117 914 5400
Email: info@tills.biz / www.ernesttillsouthwest.co.uk
To advertise in this magazine or on our websites, phone The Journal’s sales team on 01454 300 400