Cathedral Primary School celebrates completed building project

Cathedral Primary School is celebrating the official opening of the school in its new location on College Square.

The building was officially opened today (13 October) by Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, along with the children’s presenter Andy Day and children’s author, Laura James as well as other guests, staff and pupils of the school.

The school is now housed in the lower floors of Bristol Central Library, a Grade 1 listed building built in 1906 and designed by the architect Charles Holden. The two-year programme to renovate the space is now fully complete, bringing a new lease of life to this part of the building.

The new refurbished building offers high quality, modern facilities, with the design of the refurbishment reflecting the unique and traditional features of the building. The school is part of Cathedral Schools Trust – a new multi-academy trust with partner schools Victoria Park Primary School, Headley Park Primary School and Bristol Cathedral Choir School. The trust is set to open another free school “Enterprise School”, a much needed secondary school serving north Bristol.

Headteacher Sara Yarnold said:

“We are delighted to be in this wonderful space. This is a very special school and what better place to be than within the walls of such a beautiful building. The children love their new school and are excited about their year ahead and using all these new spaces.”

Stephen Parsons, MBE DL, Chair of Governors said:

“The journey to open Cathedral Primary School in the bottom two floors of Bristol Central Library has been challenging and rewarding in equal measure for all involved. We put our primary school pupils first throughout the process and they and their amazing parents have been rewarded with a school fit for the twenty-first century in the very heart of Bristol and in the shadow of Bristol Cathedral. I am grateful to those who backed our vision and supported us and our pupils in difficult moments. The city has a new primary school to be proud of and it will make a difference to local Bristol families.”

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said:

“In recent years demand for school places in Bristol has soared so we’ve had to think innovatively about how the city can meet this demand. The council is working with partners to support the opening of new schools and expand existing ones. We are collectively sharing responsibility for this though our Learning City partnership, working with many different schools and organisations in the city and nationally. The new Cathedral Primary School is a good example of this partnership work in practice.”

David Snell of KIER said:

“Kier have built a huge number of schools, both locally and nationally. Each of these projects has come with its own particular set of challenges, but none have been quite as challenging as Cathedral Primary School.

“The project required the construction of a two storey primary school beneath the occupied Grade One Listed library, immediately adjacent to the Cathedral. Thankfully the School, EFA and professional team all worked together with us and played their part in finding solutions. The end result is a truly remarkable teaching space which significantly improves the schools estate and provides an exceptional learning environment.”

For more information please see: http://www.cathedralprimaryschool.org/

For all enquiries please contact: admin@cathedralprimaryschool.org