Fairlawn Primary School Merger Consultation

A decision on the merger of two Bristol primary schools will be made in May

Two Bristol primary schools could merge together due to falling school rolls in Bristol.

The city currently has a need for places in secondary, specialist schools and post-16 provision, but primary rolls have been falling for some time.

Now, E-ACT The Dolphin School in Montpelier could merge with E-ACT Fairlawn Primary, which is less than one mile away.

The former St Barnabas CE VC Primary School that served the Montpelier and St Pauls communities was closed for the same reason by Marvin Rees in a Cabinet meeting back in 2023.

A consultation between Bristol City Council and both schools is currently running with parents, pupils, staff and the local community.

The schools say that they ‘must make strategic decisions about how we can best serve our community’s needs.’

E-ACT, a multi academy trust is responsible for 38 academies across England. It has control of both The Dolphin School and Fairlawn Primary School. They both take in pupils from Montpelier, St Pauls and Easton.

The academies say: ‘Schools across the country are already facing real difficulties with the amount of funding that is available from the government. Having a school with a small number of pupils makes it very difficult to run and provide the best possible education. In this climate, the academy has struggled to deliver significant educational improvement and has been judged to require improvement by Ofsted.’

If the merger goes ahead, places are guaranteed for all Dolphin School pupils at the Fairlawn site.

Additional transition support has been promised with ‘enhanced support’ available for both vulnerable pupils and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send).

The consultation is due to close in March. An application will be made to the Department for Education in the spring, with a final decision due on the future of the schools in May 2025.

A community consultation will take place at the Malcolm X Centre on City Road on Wednesday 26 February from 6pm – 8pm. It will be led by E-ACT’s National Director of Primary Education Martin Fitzwilliam.

For more information, visit: https://www.fairlawnschoolbristol.org/1365/consultation

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