Scott Brownrigg has attended the Turf Cutting Ceremony for the new Merchants Academy Primary and Venturers’ Autistic Spectrum Condition Schools in Bristol.

The £12.5m development, procured through the Education & Skills Funding Agency’s national framework with Galliford Try, co-locates both schools on the site of the original Merchants Academy Senior School in Withywood.

The Scott Brownrigg-designed building will utilise entirely off-site forms of manufacture for the building superstructure, in line with Scott Brownrigg and Galliford Try’s Optimum Schools concept. This follows on from both companies’ recent successful handovers of Kingsteignton and Westclyst Primary schools in Exeter.

Responding to the increasing demand for primary school spaces and the urgent need for specialist autistic school facilities, 530 students will benefit from shared facilities such as science labs, sports facilities, design and technology, music rooms, a library and a hall. This clear philosophy to integrate and share facilities with each other and with the existing secondary school will create inspiring learning environments for pupils and a clear pathway from nursery to sixth form, all on one campus.

Venturers’ Academy will be the first state-funded school in Bristol for students with a primary diagnosis of autism. Venturers’ Academy will be a centre of expertise and excellence, educating 84 students aged 4-16 with a primary diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC) or a Statement of SEN Specialist requirements. The school will accommodate visiting therapists, home school workers, sensory rooms and a unique training facility providing education for teachers of ASC children.

“Commencing onsite is a huge milestone in this project and we look forward to seeing it complete. The new Venturers’ Academy building will provide young people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions the best support and opportunities that can be afforded for their education.”

Jon James, Director

Early works have commenced on site, with the schools due to be handed over to the Venturer’s Trust in line for the September 2020 academic intake.