Skip to content

Cotswold school places

The County Council has a statutory duty to plan the provision of school places and to ensure there are sufficient, appropriately located places for all children and young people in the county. This includes the commissioning of suitable school accommodation to support the promotion of high-quality educational standards and to ensure vulnerable learners get fair access to educational opportunities. The County Council manages the impact of rising and declining pupil numbers and ensures there are sufficient school places available for all children and young people across the county, in the right place and at the right time.

See below for the latest updates on all of our school projects in the Cotswolds:

Current projects

There is an identified need to establish a new 3 forms of entry primary school, with Early Years facilities, following a housing development (The Steadings) of 2,300 new homes planned on land in Chesterton, Cirencester. Under the terms of the S106 agreement the temporary accommodation and new school will be funded and delivered by the developer, Bathurst Developments Ltd (BDL).

A competition was carried out to find a sponsor for the new school and following a selection process, the Regional Schools Commissioner announced in September 2019 that the preferred sponsor for the new school is Corinium Education Trust.

The new school that will be situated on the Steadings Development will offer 630 primary school places. The school will be opened initially on a host site in September 2024, moving to its permanent site in September 2026 when the building has been delivered. The school will open in a phased manner, allowing it to grow gradually to accommodate pupils as the new housing comes on line.

GCC is currently working with BDL and Corinium Education Trust on the temporary accommodation for September 2024.

Siddington Primary to open its doors to the pupils of The Steadings

Siddington C of E Primary School plans to welcome pupils from The Steadings, the new neighbourhood within Cirencester, for a minimum of two years from September 2024 while the primary school at the heart of The Steadings is being built.

The Corinium Education Trust will run The Steadings’ primary school to meet the demand for additional school places in Cirencester as the neighbourhood develops. Initially, the school will be run from a temporary site at Siddington C of E Primary before it moves to its permanent location currently planned for 2026.

The Corinium Education Trust is working closely with Gloucestershire County Council and the site developers, Bathurst Development Ltd (BDL) to ensure that any temporary accommodation for the new school provides a permanent legacy building for its host in the form of a new multi-purpose hall.

Following local consultation held on 31st March 2022, BDL expects to make a formal planning application in early Summer 2022; with construction work anticipated to start in Summer 2023. If you were unable to make the event, you can still comment on the plans (PDF, 8.6 MB) and provide feedback by completing the feedback form (DOCX, 38.3 KB) by April 28 2022.

For more information, please visit The Steadings - Cirencester (thesteadingscirencester.co.uk) or contact Chiquita Henson, Chief Executive, The Corinium Education Trust c.henson@coriniumeducationtrust.net or 01285 653447 (Cirencester Deer Park School).

There is an identified need to establish a new 3 forms of entry primary school, with Early Years facilities, following a housing development (The Steadings) of 2,300 new homes planned on land in Chesterton, Cirencester. Under the terms of the S106 agreement the temporary accommodation and new school will be funded and delivered by the developer, Bathurst Developments Ltd (BDL).

A competition was carried out to find a sponsor for the new school and following a selection process, the Regional Schools Commissioner announced in September 2019 that the preferred sponsor for the new school is Corinium Education Trust.

The new school that will be situated on the Steadings Development will offer 630 primary school places. The school will be opened initially on a host site in September 2024, moving to its permanent site in September 2026 when the building has been delivered. The school will open in a phased manner, allowing it to grow gradually to accommodate pupils as the new housing comes on line.

GCC is currently working with BDL and Corinium Education Trust on the temporary accommodation for September 2024.

Siddington Primary to open its doors to the pupils of The Steadings

Siddington C of E Primary School plans to welcome pupils from The Steadings, the new neighbourhood within Cirencester, for a minimum of two years from September 2024 while the primary school at the heart of The Steadings is being built.

The Corinium Education Trust will run The Steadings’ primary school to meet the demand for additional school places in Cirencester as the neighbourhood develops. Initially, the school will be run from a temporary site at Siddington C of E Primary before it moves to its permanent location currently planned for 2026.

The Corinium Education Trust is working closely with Gloucestershire County Council and the site developers, Bathurst Development Ltd (BDL) to ensure that any temporary accommodation for the new school provides a permanent legacy building for its host in the form of a new multi-purpose hall.

Following local consultation held on 31st March 2022, BDL expects to make a formal planning application in early Summer 2022; with construction work anticipated to start in Summer 2023. If you were unable to make the event, you can still comment on the plans (PDF, 8.6 MB) and provide feedback by completing the feedback form (DOCX, 38.3 KB) by April 28 2022.

For more information, please visit The Steadings - Cirencester (thesteadingscirencester.co.uk) or contact Chiquita Henson, Chief Executive, The Corinium Education Trust c.henson@coriniumeducationtrust.net or 01285 653447 (Cirencester Deer Park School).

Completed projects

A scheme was developed and split into phases in order to allow the school to function as normally as possible whilst work took place.

Phase 1 - consisted of extending the hall, providing a new kitchen, servery and store and to bring one of the classrooms (being used as a dining area) back into use.

Phase 2 - was to allow the school to operate more effectively with an increased capacity. Work took place around the entrance to the school and provides a more natural frontage to allow better flow of pupils in and out of the building.

Phase 3 - was to expand the school to 1.5FE. Work included providing two new classrooms, moving the nursery and turning the old nursery into a classroom.  

The capacity before the work started was 210 pupils;  now the capacity has increased to 315 pupils.

A scheme was developed and split into phases in order to allow the school to function as normally as possible whilst work took place.

Phase 1 - consisted of extending the hall, providing a new kitchen, servery and store and to bring one of the classrooms (being used as a dining area) back into use.

Phase 2 - was to allow the school to operate more effectively with an increased capacity. Work took place around the entrance to the school and provides a more natural frontage to allow better flow of pupils in and out of the building.

Phase 3 - was to expand the school to 1.5FE. Work included providing two new classrooms, moving the nursery and turning the old nursery into a classroom.  

The capacity before the work started was 210 pupils;  now the capacity has increased to 315 pupils.

Three photos of the refurbishments to the Early Years block at Cirencester Primary School

Work started in May 2019 to replace the life-expired Early Years block/hall. Some remodelling, refurbishment and rearrangement will also take place internally to make better use of accommodation in line with School Development Plan, including:

  • Remodelling the current dining room into two EYFS classrooms
  • Providing a new school hall/kitchen in a new permanent building, located in part of the current playground
  • Demolishing the old EYFS/hall building and reinstating ground as outdoor play area
  • Other internal modifications to relocate some classrooms/Reception
  • Remodelling and refurbishing main toilet area 

Work finished in February 2020.

Three photos of the refurbishments to the Early Years block at Cirencester Primary School

Work started in May 2019 to replace the life-expired Early Years block/hall. Some remodelling, refurbishment and rearrangement will also take place internally to make better use of accommodation in line with School Development Plan, including:

  • Remodelling the current dining room into two EYFS classrooms
  • Providing a new school hall/kitchen in a new permanent building, located in part of the current playground
  • Demolishing the old EYFS/hall building and reinstating ground as outdoor play area
  • Other internal modifications to relocate some classrooms/Reception
  • Remodelling and refurbishing main toilet area 

Work finished in February 2020.