Bedminster to benefit from extra funding for primary school places

Nine Bristol primary schools have been told they will receive a share of the funding available to Bristol City Council to provide a further 370 places across the city next year – and Compass Point South Street School in Bedminster is one of them.  

In November, the Government announced that Bristol City Council will receive £18.3 million to help create new primary school places in the city. Bristol received the largest allocation of additional funding to a local authority area outside London.

The council anticipates that up to 5,000 extra primary school places will be needed in Bristol by 2015.

Parents have been told they will be able to amend their applications if necessary ahead of the January deadline following today's announcement.

Many families living in BS3 faced financial and practical difficulties when their children were allocated places at schools far outside their local communities for the September 2011 intake. In some cases, children were expected to travel over four miles to school each day.

Two local primary schools, South Street and Ashton Gate, agreed to create a 'bulge' Reception class for this academic year to help. 

Ashton Gate primary school has since been looking at expanding on to land at nearby St Francis Church in order to provide extra Reception places for 2012.

Governors at South Street School agreed to accept a Bulge Class for September 2012 on the understanding that the buildings will be fully inspected with a view to a long term solution.

It was anticipated that there would be a shortage of 98 places in BS3 for the next academic year if nothing were done about the situation.

The South Bristol Schools Campaign – a community-led group raising awareness of the lack of local primary school places for children living in the Bedminster/BS3 area – has met repeatedly with council service directors over recent months to press for a solution to address the local shortage.