The Steadings Primary School is now scheduled to open in September 2026. We apologise for any disappointment and inconvenience this may cause. 

 

The decision to postpone the opening of this new school has not been taken lightly. It has been taken in consultation with Gloucestershire County Council’s Primary Place Planning Team, who monitor pupil projections alongside the housing trajectory, and Bathurst Developments Limited, the master developer for The Steadings.

 

‘While we were very sorry to learn that the opening of the new school has been postponed for a further year, we had an inkling this might be the case as we have been working closely with the Primary Place Planning Team, who monitor the number of births and pre-school aged children in the area, and Bathurst Developments Limited, who regularly update us on their progress.’ Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead (CEO). 

 

While Bathurst Developments Limited and Barnwood Construction are making really good progress on the legacy building at Siddington C of E Primary School, which will temporarily accommodate the new school, indicative figures from Stephen Chandler, Place Planning Manager, Education Planning and Infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council, show that there is sufficient capacity across the Trust’s existing primary schools and other schools in the Cirencester area, to absorb the number of additional pupils starting in Reception in September 2025. 

 

‘We are very excited. The legacy building at Siddington C of E Primary School is scheduled to open in November 2024 and it will be available for us to use until September 2026. It will provide a new hall which we plan to use flexibly during our initial period of occupancy and we look forward to supporting the development of the new school.’  Louise Lennox, Headteacher, Siddington C of E Primary School. 

 

The Trust is looking forward to welcoming new families from The Steadings and the surrounding area to our schools and we encourage parents of prospective pupils to visit both Siddington C of E Primary School and Chesterton Primary School. Both schools are ideally situated for families with children of Primary school age moving into the area ahead of the new school opening in September 2026.  

 

The Trust is currently developing a website for the new school. This will go live in June 2024. It will provide an introduction to The Steadings Primary School. We will also provide updates on the new school’s development. 

 

The Trust works closely with other local primary schools on primary school admissions. In anticipation of it's opening, we recently consulted on The Steadings Primary School’s Admissions Policy which was subsequently approved by our Trustees. The policy will now be effective from January 2025 for admissions to Reception in September 2026.  

 

For families with children aged 11 or over, The Steadings is also within the catchment area of the Trust’s secondary school, Cirencester Deer Park School.