Multi-academy trust Oasis Community Learning (part of Oasis Charitable Trust) and Wates Group (the development, building and property maintenance company), have held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new secondary school in Knowle, Bristol.
Following a campaign in the local community, the ceremony took place to highlight a significant milestone in the project to deliver a much-needed new secondary school in Knowle and across South Bristol.
Oasis Community Learning is a multi-academy trust that operates 52 academies across England, serving over 30,000 students in both primary and secondary schools. Oasis opened its first two academies in Bristol in 2008. Across the city they now have five primary, and five secondary academies dedicated to the progress of every student, serving their local communities.
Oasis Academy Daventry Road is a new inclusive 900 place co-educational secondary school, filling up year on year with additional year groups of students. The academy’s overarching mission is to provide ‘exceptional education at the heart of the community’. The project was led by Rebecca Stepek, Project Manager at OCL, working closely with Wates.
Previously home to the former Merrywood School, Oasis Academy Daventry Road’s state of the art facilities will include an activity studio, sports hall, sports pitches and multi-use games area.
At the moment, the academy is operating on a temporary site, accommodating students in Years 7-8, until the permanent site is completed.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Department for Education, Arcadis, Oasis, Park Community Centre and Wates. The event was also attended by Counsellor Cam Hayward and Counsellor Toby Wells.
Delivering social value for the local area is a key focus for the project. While carrying out work building this new school, Wates delivered an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) workshop for the local community, with its charity partner Papyrus. The skills building workshop prepared caregivers to provide suicide first aid interventions, including learning the most widely used suicide prevention model in the world, and understanding how to recognise, and act on, the signs that someone is having thoughts of suicide.
In addition, Wates planted 42 trees as part of a new landscaping scheme and 440 whips (seed-grown unpruned trees) at Arnos Vale Cemetery.
