New Gloucester special school gets the go ahead

The new school is due to open in September 2026 and will cater for both primary and secondary pupils aged 4 to 16 with moderate and additional learning difficulties (MALD). The school will be built on land that has previously been set aside for educational purposes and is already owned by the county council at Wheatridge East in Abbeydale in Gloucester.

There continues to be an increasing need for special school places in the county. To help address this need, the county council delivered Brook Academy in 2022, a £9.75 million 80-place secondary special school, and spent over £1 million to turn a former mainstream primary school in Stroud into a 60-place primary special school, Sladewood Academy, which opened in 2023.

The council has also invested £2.7 million in recent years to create additional places at existing special schools across the county, such as Belmont School in Cheltenham and Alderman Knight School in Tewkesbury. However, there is still a shortage of places locally, which means some children currently must travel to schools out of county or to independent schools to have their educational needs met.

Cllr Philip Robinson, cabinet member for education and bus transport at Gloucestershire County Council, said, “We’ve been working hard behind the scenes on this new special school since 2023 and I’m delighted that we have been granted planning permission today.

“Our priority is to make sure more children get the specialist education they need at a school closer to where they live, which is why we’re investing over £30 million in special school places.”

The school will be run by Reach South Academy Trust, which has extensive experience in supporting children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities across the South West.

Dean Ashton, CEO of Reach South Academy Trust, said, "We are delighted that the new special school has been given formal planning approval - recognising the importance of this provision for the children and young people in Gloucestershire, especially for those with greatest need. We look forward to working with the county council, local community, schools, parents and carers to ensure the very best education moving forward."

The school building will be designed to operate at net zero carbon emissions, in line with the county council’s pledge to reduce Gloucestershire’s carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2045.

More information and plans for the school can be viewed here.