Plans to open Bath’s first specialist primary school have been unveiled in an attempt to meet the city’s shortage of primary school places.
The New Bath Primary Trust hopes to open the new school in 2015
The New Bath Primary Trust, which is made up of City of Bath College and a group of schools, is proposing a new primary school specialising in science, technology, engineering, maths and enterprise.
The 420-pupil school will have an extended school day and will focus its teaching on a creative and innovative curriculum.
The school, which would be the city’s first primary out of local authority control, will also have a 20-place special education centre.
The Trust has secured initial support from the New Schools Network, the charitable body providing support and advice on setting up new state sector schools.
The next step is an extensive public consultation exercise ahead of an application being submitted to the Department for Education in May.
The New Bath Primary Trust has been set up by members of The Bath Education Trust, which includes Beechen Cliff, Hayesfield, Ralph Allen, Three Ways and Wellsway schools. All of the schools in the Trust are Academies.
Trust spokesman and City of Bath College Principal Matt Atkinson said: “We see ourselves as local education leaders able to provide a local solution. All of the schools in the Trust are high performing schools with good track records.
“This is the latest step in providing our leadership role across the community. The values of the school will be driven by the curriculum, we want to start early and give children a good skillset for later life.
“The real ethos will be child-centred. We want to create a really creative environment where children are active in the community and well placed for the transition to secondary school.”
Discussions about the non-denominational primary school have been taking place for about a year and a decision is expected in July.
The Department of Education will fund the scheme and if successful, the new two-form school could open in September 2015. It would initially open with reception and year one pupils, taking seven years to reach full capacity.
Its location is yet to be decided but it is likely to be in the city centre to meet the greatest need.
Current local authority data shows that within the next two years demand for primary places will exceed the number of places currently available in the city’s primary schools.
An additional 31 new places are needed for 2015 and 60 for 2017 and new housing developments at Bath Western Riverside, Fox Hill and Endsleigh are expected to increase the pressure for primary places.
Matt added: “We intend to undertake an extensive consultation exercise with school leaders and governing bodies, the local authority, parents and local people to establish whether any future proposals for the development of a primary school would receive broad support.
“We do believe that the combined expertise and success of our partners means that we are well placed to lead on this development and over the coming months we look forward to engaging fully with all stakeholders.”
Parents, especially those with children due to start primary school in 2015, are invited to have their say at a series of public consultation sessions. They are at City of Bath College on Friday, March 7 at 12noon, Haysefield School’s upper site on Monday, March 17 at 11am, City of Bath College on Wednesday, March 19 at 2pm, and Beechen Cliff School on Thursday, March 27 at 2.30pm.
For further information and to have your say online, go to www.newbathprimaryschool.com
For the latest updates on the new primary school plans, follow New Bath Primary on Twitter or like New Bath Primary Trust on Facebook.
