GOVERNMENT GREEN LIGHT TO REBUILD PATCHWAY COMMUNITY SCHOOL WELCOMED BY LOCAL CONSERVATIVES
Local Conservatives have welcomed the success of a multimillion-pound bid to Government for the complete rebuild of Patchway Community School.
The school is one of 50 named in the second wave of the Prime Minister’s ten-year rebuilding programme to level up opportunities for all, with 500 new schools across the country set to be delivered over the coming decade by the initiative. The majority of the confirmed projects are expected to complete within three to five years.
Improving school standards is the number one priority of the Council’s Conservative Administration, having made a record £78million capital investment to build new and upgrade existing school buildings across the district, with the plan to rebuild the school reflecting not just the need for more modern facilities but also the increasing need for greater school provision to support new development planned for the area over the coming years.
As one of the schools funded through the rebuilding programme, the new school building will also be net-zero carbon in operation, similar to others being delivered by South Gloucestershire Council in Lyde Green, Frenchay and Winterbourne, helping to meet South Gloucestershire and the Government’s respective net zero targets.
This announcement follows the decision made last September by the Administration to progress plans for the rebuild, alongside the creation of a secondary school on the new Filton Airfield development, where next steps were agreed to progress designs and strategies, engaging with local partners and parents and carers to develop the overall vision for the schools.
Following the news, the Council’s Leader and Education Lead, Cllrs Toby Savage and Erica Williams, met with OAT CEO Dave Baker to celebrate and discuss next steps.
Cllr Erica Williams, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Employment, said: “This is fantastic news for Patchway Community School, its students and their families. Having long been a cornerstone of the wider community, it is fantastic to be able to work with the Olympus Academy Trust on the exciting future for the school that will not only keep its legacy alive but will help to build on that very legacy for the future, to benefit the many generations to come.”
Cllr Toby Savage, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, added: “Our number one priority is to improve school standards, and that starts with providing young people with better learning environments and it is great the funding will see the school become net-zero as well. This fantastic news just goes to show what can be achieved when school academies, and local councils work in tandem with the Government towards a greater vision and I want to thank Dave and his incredible team for everything they are doing day-in-day-out to deliver outstanding education to young people in South Gloucestershire.”
Dave Baker, CEO of Olympus Academy Trust, said: “The Olympus Academy Trust is absolutely delighted that a much needed and long overdue rebuild will now take place to give the community in Patchway the kind of facilities that they need and deserve for education. The contrast is stark between Patchway’s current buildings and the other Olympus secondary schools which are all either new build or replacement schools. We are grateful to all who have supported us in making representations and for helping others to recognise Patchway Community School’s need. This is an exciting time for us!”
Also visiting the school, Cllrs Jo Buddharaju, Sanjay Shambhu and Brian Hopkinson, who represent the Charlton and Cribbs ward, including parts of Patchway, and the latter of whom attended the school back in 1959, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Patchway Community School is set to be rebuilt, having been in need of significant investment for some time. With the Administration having progressed their vision last year and this vital funding now in place, the future looks bright for young people in Patchway and we cannot wait for the process to keep moving, for construction to begin and for the doors of the brand new school to open.”
