A NEW school on the site of Bristol City Football Club's ground could provide the answer for hundreds of parents worried about the shortage of primary school places in the area.
A Bristol councillor said last night that a mixed-used development of the Ashton Gate ground could see a school being built there as well as a supermarket.
The idea was suggested at a public meeting between parents and local council and school representatives at the Tobacco Factory, where parents asked for an update over places for September 2012 and beyond.
Two schools – Ashton Gate and Compass Point primaries – have each provisionally agreed to take an extra reception class next year but at least one more is likely to be needed.
Southville Primary School has said it would like to help and is talking to the council about possible options.
But that only solves the problem for one more year – and parents pressed Bristol's cabinet councillor for children Clare Campion-Smith and the man in charge of planning school places, Ian Bell, for answers on what would happen after that.
They said a new school building – or at least a site for an existing school to have an annexe – was necessary, and may even be needed by 2013. Mr Bell said that about five sites were being considered – and compulsory purchase was not being ruled out.
One parent at the meeting, organised by the South Bristol Schools Campaign, asked if part of the Ashton Gate site could be used for a school. Although there are ongoing legal wrangles over the site for the proposed new Bristol City ground, consent has been given for Sainsbury's to build a store at Ashton Gate. Mrs Campion-Smith said a school there would be an option.
"Up at the Memorial Ground in Horfield, where Sainsbury's want to build a new supermarket, there has been talk of mixed use and a possible school," she said. "It's possible we could also talk that way at Ashton Gate but we also need to be looking at other options."
For this year, Mr Bell said there were 346 applicants, with 330 places – but the council is hopeful that a solution can be found by working with Southville Primary. Demand in Bedminster and Southville is likely to peak in 2015, by which time a new school – or annexe of an existing school – will definitely be needed. However, all the local schools are on cramped sites where redevelopment is difficult. Governors at the primaries say they are keen to help but expansion must not be at the expense of pupils and staff already at the schools.
Last year Southville Primary could only take in pupils who lived less than 200 metres from the school. Its governors have suggested to council officers that replacing two sheds with a two-storey building could provide an extra classroom and storage space but further talks are needed as the school building is Grade II-listed.
Bristol has seen a 20 per cent rise in the number of four-year-olds over the last four years. The council estimates it will need an extra 14 reception classes this September and has been working with schools to increase admissions numbers. It is estimated that at least 3,000 places will be necessary by 2015. Bristol City Council provides weekly updates on school places on its website. All parents who applied for reception class places by the January 15 deadline will receive an offer on April 20.
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