New city school delayed until 2026

A NEW secondary school being built in South Bristol will not open now until at least 2026 after issues with the amount of asbestos discovered in the old school being demolished to make way for it.

It means this year’s Year 7 pupils, who started at Oasis Academy Daventry Road in September, won’t actually be going to the new school buildings in Knowle West until they start Year 10, and will have three years travelling to a temporary school set up a mile and a half away in Hengrove.

The DfE has asked for permission to extend the amount of time the temporary school will be based at the Oasis John Williams site.

The Daventry Road site was first proposed five years ago and was supposed to open in 2023, but was hit with delays from the start.

In 2021, the Department for Education said that, although the school was desperately needed because of a shortage of school places in South Bristol, it wouldn’t be ready to open on time.

It wasn’t until 2022 that planning permission was given to knock down the old Merrywood School buildings in Knowle West, which closed in 2000 and most recently was the Park Community Centre.

The Park moved to new buildings next door on the site, and demolition of the old school finally got under way, but it took more time than anticipated.

So when Year 7 pupils who had earlier signed up to be the first to attend Oasis Academy Daventry Road in September 2023 started school, they were housed in temporary classrooms in Hengrove instead.

The opening date was shifted, at first to September 2024, then 2025, but now the new school won’t be ready until 2026, Oasis bosses have confirmed, although they hope there is the possibility of being on the new site earlier in 2026.

A spokesperson for Oasis Academy said: “The contractor for the academy’s permanent building has demolished the main structure on Daventry Road. However, the scale of the additional asbestos and ground contamination has impacted the construction programme further and it won’t be possible to open the permanent building in September 2025.

“We are working with the Department for Education to move into the new building as early as possible in 2026, which is the forecasted open date. We appreciate this latest development is disappointing for the families and community the academy will serve.”