“This is such an exciting moment. Long-promised and now delivered”
The new Lyde Green secondary school and primary school sites are completed and now being fitted out to open in September 2026
Two new schools first promised ten years ago on the edge of Bristol will finally open to their first pupils in a couple of weeks.
A new primary school and a new secondary school will open in Lyde Green, after builders handed over the finished schools to the academies that will run them.
They are now in a race against time to fit out the schools and fill them with furniture, equipment and staff in time for the doors to open to new pupils in the first week of September.
Lyde Green already has a primary school which opened ten years ago, but in the late 2010s, with the area booming with housing developments, councillors proposed a new secondary school and a new, second primary school should be built.
Back in July 2020, local residents had their say on the proposals at a public consultation, but it took another six years for the funding to be put in place, the plans to be approved and the schools to be built and finished.
Lyde Green Secondary School, part of a new development in the Emersons Green area in South Gloucestershire, was originally supposed to welcome its first pupils in 2022 but this was pushed back by 12 months twice and then in 2023 to September 2026.
Lyde Green primary will now be a two-form entry school with a capacity for 420 pupils on two sites, and it will be run as the first site on Willowherb Road in Emersons Green, by the Thornbury-based Castle Schools Education Trust.
The new secondary school will be for pupils aged 11 up to 16 – from Year 7 to Year 11 – and will eventually have a capacity for 900 pupils, but the school will fill up slowly as Year 6s leave local primary schools.
The project to build both schools together cost a total of £58.3 million. Almost half of that – some £24 million – came from South Gloucestershire Council, using a lot of the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 money from the developers of all the homes that have seen Lyde Green expand so much in recent years.
The other £34.3 million came from the Department of Education under the Free Schools Programme, and the schools were built by construction firm BAM.
Even though South Gloucestershire Council paid that much to see the schools built, it won’t run either of them. The secondary school will be opened and run by the Olympus Academy Trust, which runs nine other schools across South Gloucestershire, and Boomsatsuma college too.
“This is a landmark moment for Lyde Green and a proud moment for Olympus,” said the trust’s interim chief exec Claire Moloney-Banks.
“The handover of Lyde Green Community School marks an exciting milestone for the local community and for everyone involved in bringing this vision to life.
“We are grateful to South Gloucestershire Council, BAM and all project partners for their commitment and collaboration throughout the journey.
“Our team is now looking forward to welcoming our founding learners and families in September and creating a school where young people thrive academically, develop the character and life skills they need for the future, and feel a genuine sense of belonging. These exceptional facilities will provide an inspiring environment where every young person can learn, grow and succeed for generations to come,” she added.
Cllr Ian Boulton is the man in charge of schools at South Gloucestershire Council. He said the council was now looking at how to expand nursery and early years provision in the growing areas.
“This is such an exciting moment,” he said. “Long-promised and now delivered, these state-of-the-art schools will serve the Lyde Green community for generations.
“Getting this project moving after years of delays was a key priority for this administration. It’s just one of many developments for our children and young people that will make a real difference to families in South Gloucestershire.
“We are also looking forward to a new primary school for the Cribbs Patchway community, for example, and we are looking at a range of smaller-scale, but no less important projects to expand nursery and early years provision in the district. These are investments in our future,” he added.
The schools have been built by BAM to be energy efficient and, after some schools in the area closed because of the heat during the worst of the heatwaves earlier this summer, it is claimed they will be warm in winter and cool in the summer.
The schools are built mainly of timber, and meet the ‘Passivhaus Standard’ for energy efficiency and thermal comfort, which is considered the top standard around the world.
August 2024 – Tom Hill, Headteacher Designate for Lyde Green Secondary School; Will Roberts, CEO of CSET; Dave Baker, CEO of Olympus; Cllr Claire Young, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council; Cllr Ian Boulton, Co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council and Cabinet Member with responsibility for Schools; Richard White, BAM Project Manager and Colin Money, Office of the South West Regional Schools Director. Credit: SGC/Rich McD(Image: South Gloucestershire Council)
“Combined with the timber construction, all electric heating and photovoltaic panels on the roof, the buildings will achieve the highest levels of sustainability,” said a council spokesperson.
“The schools are very well insulated, have triple glazed windows and ventilation systems, meaning the schools will be warm and comfortable in winter and cool in summer, providing a healthy learning environment for children, with good air quality in quiet classrooms,” he added.
While the new secondary school will be a completely new set-up, the new build for Lyde Green primary means a big move from the original school site for some.
Will Roberts, the chief executive of CSET, which runs the existing primary school, said it will mean the school will now be able to grow.
“We are excited to be moving into our new primary buildings over the summer, as we prepare to welcome additional pupils into our reception classes this September,” he said.
“Our second site opens exactly ten years after we moved into the original site, and we are delighted that the school will now be able to grow over the coming years to enable all Lyde Green children to attend their local school,” he added.