Information about primary schools near the University of Bristol

[EllieAaltonen]

Hello,

My family is moving to Bristol (Redland / Cotham / Clifton) from Brazil this year.

We have a couple of 9-year old twins in Year 4.

What are the best state primary schools in Bristol, near the University of Bristol?

Recent experience would be much appreciated on school climate, mainly in terms of welcoming foreign students. Also, is there any school where Spanish is taught as a modern language, rather than French? My children speak Portuguese, and will need to improve their English language skills a lot, so Spanish would make their lives easier.

Many thanks!

Ellie

Your big issue is going to be finding accommodation, there is a serious housing crisis in Bristol. My American friend wasn’t able to move here because every flat had a hundred applicants.

Applications to state schools then rely largely on whether they have spaces and whether you live close enough to them.

Tbh you will have to take whatever accommodation you can get then ask the local authority which schools in your area have spaces.

Thank you.

Languages education in the UK is absolutely minimal, so it really shouldn’t factor into your decision. They’ll do about 30 minutes a week and it generally isn’t high quality.

By 11 at best they’ll be doing ‘¡Hola! ¡Vivo con mi mamá y mi papá en Bristol!’ and generally the teacher won’t speak Spanish either.

Find your home first, and then start looking at schools nearby.

All of those areas are nice areas, and you’ll find that the schools within will be nice too.

Thank you.
Very helpful.

I live in Bristol - if you are renting you have a huge issue - serious shortage of rentals. My friend a deputy head and her husband - found literally 100 people for each house.

Schools such as Christchurch are great and St Ursula but you won’t get a place without a house

Yeah, sorry but it’s honestly not even worth looking at schools before you move. There is a really really serious housing problem here.
You’ll have to get a short term rental at first so that you can be on the spot and actually get in to see rental properties. Then just take whatever you can get. Once you have an address confirmed then you can see which schools are possible.
I agree with the poster above - modern language teaching in state primary schools (ie government funded schools which are free to attend) is basically pointless, don’t make any decisions based on that.

I would advise you to think ahead about secondary schools. You will need to apply for these in the autumn of year 6, i.e. in a year and a bit's time.

This is much more important than primaries, as most primaries are pretty good, but Bristol secondaries are mixed.

Most Bristol secondaries use the criteria of distance from the school for admission. They are generally oversubscribed, so there isn't really a choice of schools - you can only get into your nearest school. In your shoes I would try to make sure that you find a house that is in the catchment area for Cotham School or Redland Green. They are the best state schools IMHO (my DC goes to another secondary).

Or try to get into Backwell and live a bit further out. I know the Head at Redland Green and they are very good. Mine are in private so not in competition with you!

Yes Backwell School could be a good option, I know people with kids there who are very happy with it.

In those areas:
Bishop Road Primary
Cotham Gardens
St Johns Primary

I would try and rent in near Redland Green School catchment for secondary! Good luck

Thanks for your pieces of advice.

If you are Catholic/your kids are baptised, or even if not, you might want to consider St Bonaventure's or SS Peter and Paul's, which are the Catholic primary schools in Redland and Cotham.

At St Bon's about 20% of the children have English as a second language. I don't know about SS Peter and Paul's but I would imagine it might be similar. SS Peter and Paul's seem to teach Spanish too.

Okay, thank you.
We are Catholic, and they were baptised.

We just moved away from Bristol and lived in Sea Mills - my partner worked at Bristol Uni and it was 5 minutes on the train.

We loved the area - loads of green space - and there wasn't much language teaching in the school but they have been doing Spanish since reception.

Lots of people from there send their kids to secondary at St Katherine's in North Somerset - so many in fact that there's a bus service available.

There's not as much rental available there but you are more likely to get a house with a garden and it's a less competitive than further into the city.

As others said find a house then you'll be able to apply for schools. We really rated the school in Sea Mills - it's small and very nurturing and has a village feel.

Good luck!

If you end up living near the university, in that case, I would definitely look at St Bon's. A really sizeable minority of children there speak a language other than English at home, and because of where it's located, quite a few parents work for the university too. It's also in a very new, modern building and has a big emphasis on community as well as academics.

My eldest should be starting there in Reception in September, and I know a lot of families with children there already who are very pleased with it.

If you're practising Catholics you might want to come to the 10am mass at St Bon's church sometimes too (right next to the school). It's extremely family friendly and lots of people stay for coffee and biscuits afterwards, so can be a good way to meet people.

Thank you.
It would be lovely to have a house with a garden.
I will prefer to live near the UoB in the beginning, and have the children studying near me.
Happy Easter!

Thank you so much for your message and thoughts. I will definitely look at St. Bon’s if I end up renting a flat nearby.
Happy Easter!