Why We Do It
Because our children deserve the best learning environments available.
Environments that are attractive, welcoming and conducive to great learning.
That just happen to be net zero.
History of Brightwell School
Brightwell School became an academy with Wallingford School in 2017, thereby joining the Merchant Taylors’ Oxfordshire Academy Trust. At the time Brightwell School joined the trust, pupil numbers were low and the school was not performing well.
Thanks to huge amounts of input and guidance from the Trust, Brightwell has transformed into a popular and well achieving school. It is a inclusive school where children thrive, educationally and emotionally. The school became the heart of the community and was instrumental during COVID in keeping families and the community connected despite the challenges of isolation.
“Pupils flourish at this happy school”
— Ofsted report 2022
Why does the school need our help?
Since joining the Trust, the school has significantly grown its pupil numbers. The School is now in a position to take in up to thirty children each year, making the school “single form entry”. This is proven to be the most economically and financially sustainable model. To be able to do this Brightwell School needs seven classrooms. The School currently has six classrooms, one of which is only temporary and needs replacing.
Unfortunately Oxfordshire County Council do not see Brightwell School as a priority. Despite stating in their
They have a preference for schools run on a one or two form entry
They want to build capacity to comply with parental preference in choice of school
They are putting action to address the climate emergency at the heart of their work
The County Council are declining to help fund Brightwell Schools need for another classroom.
“Staff are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are inspired to work hard. They enjoy learning and thrive on being challenged.”
- Ofsted report 2022
What can we do?
We can support the staff in their ambition for our children.
For our first project we are working together with the Trust to build state of the art, carbon neutral, ecologically sound classrooms, the campaign for which will be called….
“The Green Classroom Project”
The new block will contain two classrooms with room enough to house children at both key stage one or two.
The design will ensure the classrooms are built to a “net zero” standard. This means using responsibly sourced materials , minimal impact foundations , and other features such as mechanical ventilation heat recovery units, solar panels, air source heat pumps, and/or seeded roofs.
In the future phases of development, we plan to retrofit or “re-green” the existing school buildings, reducing running costs and improving the environment our children spend their school days in.
We also want the community to benefit directly from the project and as such the classroom will become a community learning hub. This means that outside school hours we will run education courses for different groups across our community.