Work starts on expansion of St Edburg’s CE Primary School in Bicester
Bicester children are to benefit from a purpose-built, single storey building under construction at St Edburg’s CE Primary School on the Kingsmere development in Bicester.
Oxfordshire County Council is working in partnership with the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education and Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited to help meet the demand for local primary school places.
Nursery, foundation and key stage one pupils will use the new facilities, which are scheduled to open in September 2024. The new facilities will allow St Edburg’s CE Primary School to expand from a two-form entry to a three-form entry school operating across two sites within the Kingsmere development.
The addition of outdoor learning spaces will also mean a much stronger connection between indoor and outdoor learning, designed to assist cognitive development.
The expansion provides an opportunity to adapt the existing school building, through internal alteration, to create a dedicated site for key stage two pupils. This will improve the overall key stage two provision, providing specialist spaces for languages, IT and physical education, in preparation for pupils’ transition to secondary school.
Councillor Liz Brighouse, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Youth Services, said: “This extra capacity will have huge educational benefits for pupils at St Edburg’s CE Primary School. It is yet another exciting project from the county council, working with communities and partners on our commitment to provide first class education for Oxfordshire’s children and young people.”
Martin Leach, Director, Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited, said: “We are delighted to have reached another key milestone at Kingsmere. The provision of new facilities for St Edburg’s CE Primary School will provide an enhanced educational offering for residents and the local community right on their doorstep.
“We look forward to working with Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford Diocesan Board of Education in the coming months, as we continue to provide much needed facilities for the local area here at Kingsmere.”
Tony Wilson, Director of Education at the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE), said: “We are honoured to have been a partner in the realisation of this state of the art construction at one of the 285 schools that we serve across the Thames Valley.
“The new facilities will be served by air source heat pumps utilising the very latest in green energy technology. With our commitment to confronting the climate emergency, ODBE is delighted that this expansion is designed and built with sustainability as a key consideration. ODBE believes that the pupils of St Edburg’s CE Primary School will thrive and flourish in their new learning environment.”
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