News / Education
‘Beloved’ school to close amid ‘untenable financial situation’
Parents of a school in Redland have vowed to fight to keep it open following news of its permanent closure in July 2024.
Bristol Steiner School and Kindergarten have announced plans to shut its doors at the end of the academic year due to a “recent decline in current student numbers” leading to an “untenable” financial situation.
Joint administrators at Leonard Curtis will help manage the premises on Redland Hill during the spring and summer terms.
is needed now More than ever
Opening in 1973, Bristol Steiner School and Kindergarten is a fee-paying school that is underpinned by the Steiner Waldorf philosophy, offering what is calls “a child-centred, relational approach to learning and a commitment to promoting the development of the whole child”.
View this post on Instagram
Responding to the news of the closure in a statement posted Facebook, parents said: “Within hours, the parent body has galvanised to start making plans to find a viable and sustainable solution to ensure the continuation of the school past July 2024, as recently reported.
“The dedication and skills of this remarkable group of people are an inspiration and a force to be reckoned with.
“The parents and friends of the school passionately believe that it is possible to save the school from the scheduled closure and will be working in the new year with administrators, who are fully engaged with this process and supportive of finding a solution that enables the school to continue.”
The school’s motto is “where every education is a journey, not a race” – photo: Betty Woolerton
A Bristol Steiner School and Kindergarten spokesperson said: “Over many years the school has been supported by the generosity of friends, charities and the global Steiner Waldorf movement enabling the school to provide high quality education.
“Sadly, the recent decline in current student numbers has made the financial situation untenable.”
They added: ”We extend our heartfelt thanks to the many families, pupils, ex-pupils, teachers, team leaders, and friends of the school for their support and generosity that have contributed to the schools’ success over five decades.”
Bristol Steiner School and Kindergarten was last inspected by Ofsted in June when it was given a ‘requires improvement’ rating.
Inspectors criticised the implementation of the curriculum in the main school, weakness in staff knowledge in the subjects they teach and leaders not having “sufficient oversight of the curriculum in the kindergarten”.
Fishponds state school Bristol Steiner Academy closed in 2019 after it was thrown into special measures following a damning Ofsted report.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read next:
- Bid to protect former special needs school
- Behind the flourishing of forest schools in Bristol
- School still not doing enough to address ‘serious weaknesses’
Listen to the the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
