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City centre primary school at risk of closure
A small school that won a national award for its response to the pandemic is under threat of closure.
St Barnabas Primary School has served the local community in Montpelier and St Paul’s for 150 years, but the number of pupils has dropped substantially in recent years, partly due to two new schools opening nearby leading to an overprovision of primary school places.
Due to the pupil numbers falling, the school budget at St Barnabas has since gone into deficit, with the school community now being informed that the school is likely to close at the end of this academic year.
is needed now More than ever
One parent told Bristol24/7 that the school on Albany Road “is pretty much the last local authority school in the area, and one which actually cares about the well being of the kids (mental and academic) and the community as a whole – not just the SATS scores”.
They added: “It’s one of the only schools with green space and a truly multicultural / socio-economic intake but without the backing of a big trust’s marketing budget has suffered in recent years. The teachers and parents are angry and wanting to fight the closure.”
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A petition hoping to save the school that was set up on Saturday has already received almost 700 signatures.
Sophie Higgins Wheeler, who started the petition, said that St Barnabas is “a hidden oasis in the heart of the city centre, with its fields, woodland, vegetable gardens and playgrounds”.
She said: “It is truly a community school, and everyone who spends time there describes it as a unique and very special place.”
On the petition, Higgins Wheeler wrote that school leaders and governors “tried everything they could to increase the number on roll”, including bidding to be the site of an autism resource base and applying to join a multi-academy trust, but “unfortunately they were blocked at every turn”.
“In November 2022, staff and parents were informed that Bristol City Council had begun the process of closing St Barnabas Primary permanently,” she added.
“Everyone was shocked and devastated. The school community is now pulling together to fight against this short-sighted judgement, before the Council Cabinet makes their final decision in January.
“Please support St Barnabas to stay open. Our children deserve the chance to carry on learning with their friends and teachers, in a loving school where their needs are met by amazing staff who do not deserve to lose their jobs.
“And the school deserves the chance to grow, succeed, and keep serving the community it has served for so long.”
Main photo: Change
Read next:
- ‘Not a day of glory for education’ as decision taken to close primary schools
- ‘This administration doffs its cap to institutions that perpetuate social division’
- Hotwells Primary School: ‘a small school with a big heart’
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