£2.8 million building work at Paternoster School is complete

Paternoster School provide support for children and young people aged two to 17 years with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. The improvements to the school building come as part of the county council’s £100 million investment into schools in Gloucestershire.

The work involved replacing and remodelling the older parts of the building and constructing a new, larger two storey extension in its location.

This has provided the school with four classrooms which include a group room, classroom store, wheelchair store, and accessible outdoor areas; purpose built  hoisting facilities and disabled WC and hygiene room facilities to better support pupils at the school.

All pupil areas are at ground floor level and a lift has been installed for access to the staff and support areas upstairs. The building is also equipped with a new admin office and reception areas.

Cllr Lynden Stowe, cabinet member for economy, skills and growth for Gloucestershire, said: “It’s great to see that the work to improve Paternoster School’s facilities is complete. This will help teachers and staff to provide better learning experiences for the children and young people attending the school, which is so important to pupils and parents alike. ”

Cllr Joe Harris, county councillor for Cirencester Park, said: “This is great news for Paternoster School. The improvement work has been successful in providing a wide range of developments to the building and its facilities which will improve lessons for the pupils. I now want to work with the school to help secure funding for the replacement of the remaining temporary classrooms."

Julie Mantell, head teacher at Paternoster School, said: “I’m so pleased to see the transformation to our classrooms now the building work is complete. We have created a more accessible learning space for our pupils and I look forward to seeing them benefit from this with new lesson plans and activities.”