New East Bristol school delayed by another year

There are problems with building a school on the banks of a 214-year-old canal

Parents promised a flagship new secondary school in East Bristol almost ten years ago have been told they and their children will have to wait another year - and it won’t now open until 2027.

The school’s headteacher Richard James has told parents that there have been further setbacks in the building of the new secondary school on the north bank of the Feeder Canal, and a ‘new forecasted date will likely be 2027’ now.

If that completion date turns out to be the summer of 2027 and the new Oasis Temple Quarter school opens in September that year, it means the pupils who were supposed to move into it last year will end up having just one year - Year 11 - in the permanent school building, unless they continue into the sixth form.

Oasis Temple Quarter opened in the summer of 2023 with just Year 7 pupils. Initially, the fledgling school shared part of the Oasis Academy site in Brislington, but moved to a second temporary site at Spring Street in Bedminster in January this year.

A new Year 7 started this September and now the school has two year groups based in Bedminster, waiting to move to the new school at Temple Quarter. When it is finally completed, it will have 1,600 students.

That was due to happen in 2026, but now has been delayed another year, because of problems with the site on the banks of the Feeder.

“Delays were encountered in preparing the site for construction and repairing the canal wall and walkway, impacting the construction programme,” Richard James, the school’s headteacher, has told parents.

“The canal and walkway are currently being prepared. The site is particularly complex and constrained due to its proximity to the canal, which unfortunately has resulted in further unexpected setbacks in the construction programme. This means it won’t be possible to move to our permanent building in 2026 and the new forecasted date will likely be 2027,” he added.

The Temple Quarter school was finally agreed after years of delays and campaigning by parents in inner city East Bristol, who long-complained there was a dire shortage of secondary school places. It was delayed going through the planning process, and then there were further delays in securing Government funding, but eventually, in April 2022, the final go-ahead was received and work began that year.

It's the second new Oasis academy secondary school facing delays. Back in March this year, Bristol Live reported another year had been added to the opening date planned for Oasis Academy Daventry Road in Knowle West, with that school not now opening until 2026.

“We fully understand that this is disappointing, and along with the DfE and Bristol City Council, we share the frustrations you may be feeling at receiving this news. Please be assured we will be actively working with the DfE to plan for an additional year at our Spring Street site.

“We want to reassure you that your children will receive a rich education throughout their time with us and our staff are committed to supporting every child to achieve their full potential,” he added.

In a statement to Bristol Live, the Oasis Academy chain confirmed the delays. The statement said: "Oasis Community Learning is proud to be working with its partners, the Department for Education (DfE) and Bristol City Council, to deliver a new school on Silverthorne Lane in Bristol. Oasis Academy Temple Quarter opened in a temporary building on Spring Street in September 2023 and we are delighted to have welcomed our first cohort of students here.

"Building the new academy on Silverthorne Lane is a combined effort between the DfE and contractors for the site. The site is particularly complex and constrained due to its proximity to the Feeder canal, which unfortunately has resulted in unexpected setbacks in the construction programme. This has impacted the projected open date for the permanent building which was 2026. The new forecasted open date is likely to be 2027," they confirmed.

"We fully understand that this is disappointing, and along with the DfE and Bristol City Council, we share the frustrations our parents and the local community may be feeling at receiving this news. However, we are pleased that we have fantastic facilities at our temporary site on Spring Street and we remain committed to delivering a rich education for our students and supporting every child to achieve their full potential," they added.