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Our Junior School is moving!
Mon 14 Apr, 2008
(You can see some photos by clicking on 'see the photos' at the top of this page or by visiting the Gallery on the Junior School home page)
One of Bath’s historic buildings will be the new home for The Royal High Junior School.
Cranwell House, situated in eleven acres of parkland and gardens in Weston has been acquired by The Girls’ Day School Trust to provide accommodation, from September 2009, for both the Royal High Junior and Nursery Schools. The Head of the Royal High School, James Graham-Brown, said “I am thrilled to be able to make this announcement to parents. Cranwell House is a wonderful, nurturing environment for children to learn in. The light and spacious classrooms look out on to beautiful grounds and we are extremely fortunate to secure this splendid piece of Bath’s heritage for the school. Whilst it is a similar distance from the city centre to our current junior school, it offers our families more convenient access, whether arriving on foot, by bicycle, car or bus.” With extensive and secure grounds, the new Junior School will allow for exciting developments, both in learning and in play, for the Royal High School’s youngest students. Built in the 1850s, Cranwell House was acquired by Bath & North East Somerset Council and has subsequently been the home to both an art school and, more recently, Summerfield Special School. Its first owner Jerom Murch was a Unitarian minister who served seven terms of office as the city’s mayor and earning the title of ‘Man of The Century’ as well as a knighthood. The building plan was copied from Inigo Jones’s design for Widcombe House in Bath and has a wealth of original architectural features. The property is believed to have remained in the family until after the Second World War. Cranwell House was placed on the market by the local authority upon the opening of the Three Ways School in September last year. and the money received from the sale has been reinvested in Three Ways. A spokesperson from the Council said , “Bath & North East Somerset Council is very pleased that Cranwell House will continue to be used as an educational facility.” The grounds and buildings will also be developed for occasional use by students from the Royal High Senior School and Sixth Form College. Plans are already in hand to create a school allotment, and the site offers outstanding possibilities for hosting whole school events, both indoors and outside. Commenting on the acquisition, Barbara Harrison, Chief Executive of The Girls’ Day School Trust said:“This represents a major investment by the GDST in responding to changing local needs and securing the best for all our young people in Bath, across the age ranges. We have absolute confidence that The Royal High School will use the superb new facilities being provided to great advantage.” Junior and Nursery School parents are being invited to attend a special information evening on 23 April when plans for the new school will be presented by the school’s senior management and representatives of The Girls’ Day School Trust.
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