On Monday 6 November 2023, Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead (CEO) of The Corinium Education Trust, and Libby Pringle, Headteacher, were delighted to welcome guests to the formal opening of Chesterton Primary School’s newly refurbished facilities.

‘It was truly wonderful to bring so many members of the school’s local community together to witness the opening of the newly refurbished facilities and to publicly thank the Trustees of The Winstone Charitable Trust for their incredible generosity. Without their support and commitment to this project we would not have been able to bring about these significant improvements to key areas of the school.’ Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead (CEO)

Before entering the school for a tour, Philip Beckerlegge, Chair of The Winstone Charitable Trust, kindly cut the ribbon with the aid of Evelina and Matthew, the school’s Head pupils.

'I am delighted to have welcomed so many members of our community to the formal opening of our refurbishment. The developments have made a huge difference to the school, in particular the Library which the pupils absolutely love using! We are grateful to the Winstone Trust for their generosity and support in allowing us to make these changes.' Libby Pringle, Headteacher

'I love reading and so the library has been great!' Matthew, Head Boy

'Its amazing! Everything looks so nice and I’m really happy!' Evelina, Head Girl

The Corinium Education Trust appealed through various channels for funding to support this initiative and the Trust was delighted when the Trustees of The Winstone Charitable Trust initially offered to match funding. Unfortunately, because the school building is structurally sound, the Department for Education were unable to fund the refurbishment and between 2020 and 2022 many grant providers prioritised resources for projects directly related to the pandemic. However, after visiting the school and recognising the level of need, the The Winstones Trust Trustees extended their contribution to meet the full cost of Phase 1, which has led to a significantly improved welcome to the school and staff areas, a new library and reception classroom, a community hub and fully refurbished kitchen. Dr Andrew Chappell, Trustee of The Winstone Charitable Trust, who was passionate about the need for improvement from the outset, commended the work, ‘I absolutely love it!’.

‘While we initially thought projects of this nature should be publicly funded, following a visit to the school and learning more about what The Corinium Education Trust and the school were trying to achieve, we felt compelled to support this refurbishment and contribute to raising aspirations and standards at the school. We look forward to seeing further improvements.’ Philip Beckerlegge, Chair of The Winstone Charitable Trust

In addition to the Trustees of The Winstone Charitable Trust, representatives from the school, including the PTA, and other closely associated local community groups, guests included Sabrina Dixon, Mayor of Cirencester and former pupil of the school, Joe Harris, Leader of The Cotswold District Council, Lord Bathurst and Dame Fiona Reynolds, the Trust’s Patron, and the school’s former Headteacher David Williams and Andrea Pellegram, former Chair of Governors. All, having previously visited the school, had a strong sense of the ’before’ and ‘after’:

‘It was a delight to be invited back to Chesterton to see the refurbishment. I know the children, staff and community will make great use of the new welcoming entrance space, library and community café.’  David Williams, former Headteacher