Anne opens new school for Bristol children with autism

A SCHOOL for children with autism from east and central Bristol has been officially opened by Princess Anne.

Venturers’ Academy St Anne’s Park opened in September and is housed in a new building in Lichfield Road alongside The Kingfisher School, a mainstream primary.

Both schools are part of Venturers Trust and say the co-location, alongside a children’s centre, is bringing togethere additional resources and expertise that benefit everyone.

The Princess Royal toured both schools before unveiling a plaque. Pupils were keen to introduce her to several of their favourite areas including classrooms, the library and the spacious outdoor play areas and to tell her Venturers’ Academy is a special school for children with a primary diagnosis of autism. Its first site opened in Withywood in 2016 and since then student numbers have increased from 28 to 95, with many still on a waiting list.

Venturers’ Trust St Anne’s Park has 28 pupils while The Kingfisher School currently has 161 children on its roll.

Kaitlyn, age 8, said: “We’ve been so excited to have a real Princess visit our school! She really liked our allotment patch and asked lots of questions about our three rescue chickens.”

Kirsteen Craig, principal of The Kingfisher School, said: “We are incredibly honoured to have welcomed to our school Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. The excitement has been building for several weeks and the children couldn’t wait to show The Princess around their amazing new school. This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase and celebrate the community spirit that really shines through here.”

Trystan Williams, principal of Venturers’ Academy and executive lead for Venturers Trust, said: “The Princess was extremely interested in the collaboration between The Kingfisher School and Venturers’ Academy which is already providing so many benefits for the whole school community. It is also an excellent example of good practice within a multi-academy trust where the emphasis is on building and developing healthy environments in which children can thrive, enabling us to deliver significant academic progress and achievement for every student.”