Official opening for Chestnut Park Primary School

One of Croydon’s newest schools, Chestnut Park Primary, held its official opening ceremony this week to celebrate settling into its new building on St James’ Road.

The school, which was jointly funded by the council and the Education Funding Authority, cost £10million to build. It takes in 90 pupils each September and by 2021 will be home to 630 children.

The school’s innovative hybrid design includes a secure rooftop learning deck where children can enjoy learning outdoors. The space has already been used for a planting project, as well as a stargazing evening with a science specialist.

Chestnut Park opened in September 2015 and moved into its new building in September 2016. The school is one of 23 primary and secondary schools within the GLF Schools group, an academy trust based in the South East.

Head teacher, Esther Brooks, said: “GLF’s motto is ‘where children grow, learn, and flourish’, and here at Chestnut Primary we embody that spirit. We’re absolutely delighted with the new building, and the children here are thriving in a modern environment that is right at the heart of the local community.”

The school was built on the site of the former Westway Resource Centre, and was a challenging project overseen by the council’s development team.

Barbara Peacock, Croydon’s executive director of people said: “Everyone worked really hard during demolition and construction to minimise disruption to local residents and businesses and, at the same time, get the school open on time. Our ongoing investment in new buildings or expansions of existing schools means that Croydon is able to continue to assure parents of a place for their children every September.”

2017-05-19T12:01:33+01:00 May 19th, 2017|Recent news|