THEY have been years in the making, and cost almost £60 million to build – but finally, on September 7, it was time for lessons to begin at Lyde Green’s two new schools.
Lyde Green Community School welcomed its first 145 pupils, for whom the trepidation of starting secondary school was mixed with the thrill of having new buildings, with state-of-the-art facilities, all to themselves.
They may be in Year 7 but they will always be the oldest kids at the school, which is starting from scratch, with no other year groups.
Head teacher Tom Hill and his staff were also experiencing “the excitement of seeing the school come to life”.
He said: “Our students have settled in remarkably well and have approached this new experience with enthusiasm, curiosity and confidence.
“We have been particularly impressed by the way they have embraced our expectations, engaged with staff and shown a genuine eagerness to learn.
“Our founding staff team has also been exceptional. Opening a brand-new school comes with plenty of challenges and opportunities, but the dedication, energy and teamwork shown by colleagues has been fantastic.
“There is a real sense of pride in building something special for the community.
“Having just one year group certainly feels different to a traditional secondary school, but in many ways it has been one of the most rewarding aspects of opening.
“It has enabled us to get to know every student incredibly well and to establish the culture, routines and relationships that will underpin the school’s future growth.
“There is a real family feel around the school, while at the same time students are enjoying being the founding cohort and helping to shape the school’s identity.”
Next door, Lyde Green Primary School’s Honeysuckle Road site saw its first 21 Reception children arrive, joined by 80 Year 6s from the school’s twin site in Willowherb Road.
The older children have moved to the new school to support their transition to secondary school next year, and to relieve the Willowherb Road site, which has had to host extra ‘bulge’ classes while the Honeysuckle Road school was being built.
Head teacher Tom Hutchings said: “We are delighted to finally be in the building after many months of planning and hard work. The Year 6 pupils have transitioned to the new building very well indeed – they are enjoying the fantastic spaces and facilities that the new site offers.
“We have also welcomed a new Reception class to Honeysuckle Road and they are getting to know the staff and building. As the only class on the ground floor, they have exceptional amounts of space and resources open to them.”
Mr Hutchings, who is in overall charge of both primary sites, said operating them in tandem was working well.
A new deputy head, Katie Wightman, has been added to the staff leadership team.
Mr Hutchings said: “The staff are currently learning how the logistics of working across two sites is going to work.
“However, having embedded a new set of school values and principles throughout the last academic year, we have a very clear vision and understanding of what it means to be a pupil at Lyde Green Primary School, whether that be at the Willowherb Road or Honeysuckle Road site.
“There has also been an immediate and very positive impact at the Willowherb Road site. We have straight away been able to open a dedicated music room, and now have several additional spaces around the building for group work and pastoral support. In addition, we have also expanded our own SEND provision to include more pupils for focused support.”
The two new schools together cost £58.3 million, paid by the government and South Gloucestershire Council.
Their opening follows decades of campaigning, for a secondary school to serve Emersons Green and for enough school places for Lyde Green.Funding was approved in 2021, but the project was hit by a series of delays before work finally began in earnest in 2024.