Plans have been announced to merge Holland House Infant and Nursery with Town House to form a single all through primary school with a brand new name.
Writing to parents, Chief Executive of Broadleaf Partnership Trust, Claire Pritchard, says they hope to formalise an already close working relationship:
Both are high performing institutions, judged ‘Good’ by Ofsted in 2025, that have forged a strong alliance as members of Broadleaf Partnership Trust, sharing senior leadership, SENCO roles and a local governing board, with further work to align school curriculums already in place.
We believe as one school, staff will be more agile, creating a greater consistency and knowledge of children as they transition from key stages. It will also remove the need for Holland House parents to formally apply for a place at Town, creating greater certainty for the children involved.
With the schools already working so closely together, this change will have a minimal impact on day to day life. Whilst our ultimate vision is to bring both infant and junior onto one site, we are not in a position to deliver a new building at this time. Therefore, the primary school would continue to operate from the current school buildings, predominantly serving infants on Holland Road and juniors from Ebrook Road. There is no proposal to change the number of children in each year group.
Holland House already acts as a direct feeder to Town, with the schools sharing senior leadership since 2024. It’s hoped the move will allow even greater flexibility in sharing knowledge and resources, The biggest change therefore is the creation of the new name:
A new primary school needs a new identity to recognise it’s new era.
We have drafted a shortlist of three:
- Sutton Trinity Primary
Taking inspiration from the electoral ward in which we reside. It also pays tribute to the triangular piece of land originally gifted to Town School at the bottom of Trinity Hill in the town centre.
- Bracebridge Primary
Taking inspiration from Bracebridge Pool in Sutton Park, named after Sir Ralph Bracebridge, a medieval landholder who is credited as first creating the pool in the 15th century. Bracebridge Pool is split into two, with Little Bracebridge created to provide an area for small fish to develop before graduating to the main pool and acts as a feeder for Plants Brook, just as our new Primary will do so.
- Town House Primary
Merging parts of the current names to forge the new conjoined identity.
The consultation period will last for three weeks to collect the views of parents, the Local Authority and neighbouring academy trusts on the proposed changes before deciding whether to proceed with a formal amalgamation application to the Department for Education, with Claire Pritchard telling parents it’s the best way to serve our community:
The Broadleaf Partnership Trust is of the firm opinion that this amalgamation is in the best interests of school improvement, pupil progress, and community continuity. By formalising this alliance, we are creating a more efficient education system to serve the children of our community.
The full business case for the proposal can be viewed on the school website here
If you would like to contribute to the consultation, have any questions or would like to share views on the proposed names or suggest another option, please contact us via consultation@broadleafpt.co.uk