Pupils and teaching staff at a number of primary schools across South Gloucestershire are relishing learning in more welcoming surroundings, thanks to a £2 million investment in educational facilities.
A number of projects have been completed over the year, from adding and adapting classrooms to upgrading heating systems to cope with the colder winter months. The extra classroom capacity will ease the pressure on primary school places and in the long run this should help more families get their preferred choice of school during the admissions process.
Cllr Toby Savage, Cabinet Member responsible for schools, said: “As part of the council’s commitment to maintaining modern learning environments, a package of improvements worth more than £2m has been successfully completed across 18 primary schools.
“Replacing old boilers and roofing is helping to reduce schools’ running costs and forms part of our ongoing programme of investment to create safe, high quality learning environments for all our children. The extra classrooms are also easing the pressure on our over-subscribed schools so more pupils can go to their first choice.”
Investment highlights include:
Children at St Mary’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in Yate are benefitting from additional classroom accommodation which provides further flexible teaching and learning space and complements the existing suite of classrooms. St Mary’s is a popular and oversubscribed school and the additional classroom space has enabled the school to offer more places to local parents in line with their admission preferences.
Coniston Primary School in Patchway has been completely rewired and the plumbing replaced throughout the school during five weeks of intensive work which also saw suspended ceilings replaced and a lick of paint applied to walls to give it a fresher look.
Christ the King Primary School in Thornbury had a modular classroom added to enhance the existing facilities, and Watermore Primary School in Frampton Cotterell has also had an additional classroom built.
In addition to the investment at our primary schools, the old science lab at New Siblands Secondary School, Easton Hill Road, in Thornbury, has been refurbished and converted into a new classroom.
As well as classrooms, a number of schools have received upgrades to their heating and plumbing systems in time for the colder winter months.
Cherry Garden Primary in Bitton, Christchurch Junior in Downend and Wheatfield Primary in Bradley Stoke have all had replacement boilers installed.
Broadway Infant School had its hot and cold water services replaced and Marshfield Primary, Marshfield and The Manor Primary in Coalpit Heath had old heating controls replaced while Stanbridge Primary School in Downend has also had a new roof.
