Bristol plans more schools to meet potentially huge shortfall

As reported by the BBC, more schools are being planned for Bristol due to a desperate need for places in the area

Bristol City Council is planning to create three new schools in the area, in order to help cope with a shortage of places for pupils.

There is, apparently, a ‘dire need’ for secondary places in particular. It has been predicted that Bristol will be 683 school places short by 2022 if nothing is done.

A number of locations are being considered for the new schools, including an industrial estate and a community centre.

Ally Eynon, development lead for Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, said the government and city had already identified the area as being “in dire need of places”.

She added: “We’re really committed to providing those, and we know how urgent that need is.”

Neil Blundell, executive at the trust, added: “We know that shortfall is there because the children are already in the primary schools.

“The local authority has been working very, very hard to address that.

“I know they’ve helped increase the capacity of almost all secondary schools in Bristol, or all that can be, now it’s the turn of adding some new schools for the city.”

The upside of this increased need for places is that Bristol secondaries are becoming extra popular. Cabinet member for education, Anna Keen, said: “When I was first teaching in Bristol so many families moved out of Bristol to send their children to secondaries.

“We absolutely don’t have that problem now, we have people from outside applying for Bristol schools but we always prioritise our home children.”

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