St Ursula's School
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St Ursula's School
Independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in
Henleaze, Bristol Henleaze is a northern suburb of the city of Bristol in South West England. It is an almost entirely residential inter-war development, with Edwardian streets on its southern fringes. Its main neighbours are Westbury on Trym, Horfield, Bishop ...
, England. It consisted of a Junior Department, providing education for pupils up to age 11. In 2010, St Ursula's went into administration after it became financially unviable due to falling pupil numbers. It was temporarily saved by the
Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 wards ...
, which bought the school site, and Community Learning, a subsidiary of the
Oasis Trust Oasis Charitable Trust, commonly known as Oasis, is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by the Reverend Steve Chalke in September 1985. Chalke had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years. He ...
. This led to the opening of '' School Westbury as an interim measure during the 2010/2011 academic year. Oasis Community Learning operated the school with a one-year lease and closed it in July 2011. At the start of the 2011/2012 academic year, Bristol Council allocated the site to St Ursula's E-ACT Academy, the first primary academy in Bristol. In January 2015, St Ursula's was given a good rating by Ofsted which remains sponsored by
E-ACT E-ACT is a multi-academy trust responsible for 28 academies in England. As an academy trust, it is an exempt charity regulated by the Department for Education. E-ACT splits its 28 academies into two regional clusters called 'North' and 'South', ...


History

The school was named after St. Ursula, the patron saint of young girls and students. It was opened in 1896 by the
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...
, St. Ursula's was originally a girls' boarding school. The school stopped accepting boarders in 1927. During the Second World War, the cellars served as air raid shelters to the population of
Henleaze Henleaze is a northern suburb of the city of Bristol in South West England. It is an almost entirely residential inter-war development, with Edwardian streets on its southern fringes. Its main neighbours are Westbury on Trym, Horfield, Bish ...
and in 1942 the school was bombed and evacuated. Much of the school was destroyed by the bombing, but was re-built in 1948. In 1972 the school underwent major changes when the convent was converted into classrooms and subject rooms. Also in 1972, the Board of Governors took responsibility for the strategic management and policies operated by the school, including its financial affairs and facilities. In 1986, the Gym/Sports Hall for Games Lessons and the community was opened, after contributions from parents. The school retained close links with the Sacred Heart Catholic Church positioned at the rear of the school but lessons were not taught by the nuns after 1988, when the Sisters of Mercy withdrew from independent education in the UK and the school was taken over by an educational trust. The first lay headmistress was Margaret McNaughton who served until 2005. Under her leadership the school began to accept boys, first in the Junior School and then in the Senior Department in 1996. At this time the Sixth Form was closed due to inadequate numbers. In 2005, Lynette Carter, who previously had served as Senior Mistress of the Junior Department, took over as Headmistress. She continued as headteacher when the school became Oasis Westbury.


Closure

Facing falling pupil numbers, in early 2010 St. Ursula's expressed interest in moving to the state sector as an
Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
. This did not come to fruition, and as the Trustees were unable to find a purchaser who could take the school on as a going concern,
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were appointed as
administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...
. In August 2010 they announced that the school would close. Oasis Community Learning took it over with a one-year lease from the council and said that they wanted to run an all-through academy on the site or at least a primary academy. However the bids failed and education provider E-ACT were chosen to run a primary only academy on the site. Oasis School Westbury closed on 15 July 2011.


Efforts to save the school from closure

On the creation of Oasis School Westbury, parents of St. Ursula's pupils formed the Parents' Action Group (PAG). This group tried to save the school, first by supporting Oasis and then by putting in their own free school application bid. When rejection of the PAG/Oasis bids was announced, some parents formed a new group, Bristol Children First. This group aimed to save their school by negotiating with the
Bristol Free School Bristol Free School (BFS) is a Secondary Academy which opened in Southmead, Bristol, England, in September 2011. BFS has capacity for 790 pupils across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, and capacity for 300 in its Sixth Form, which opened in Septembe ...
(BFS) Trust, which comprised a local parents' group called Parents' Voice and the
Russell Education Trust The Russell Education Trust (RET) is a Multi-Academy Trust. It provides educational support services in the creation and operation of free schools. It is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, with exempt charity status, regulated by the De ...
. The BFS Trust wanted to run their own secondary free school on the St. Ursula's site. They were originally in competition with both Oasis and PAG, but were progressing faster towards Department for Education approval. They applied to the DfE to alter the business case for their proposal to extend it from Secondary to all-through provision, but were not successful in doing so. BFS was eventually approved to open as a Secondary school, and was allocated an alternative temporary site in Brentry. The BFS Trust hoped to move the school to the St. Ursula's site in 2012, but its bid to do that was unsuccessful. BFS opened in September 2011 with Year 7 only, so was unable to accommodate pupils from St. Ursula's who were entering Year 8 or above. Primary pupils from the original St. Ursula's school were accommodated at St Ursula's E-ACT Academy, which also opened in September 2011, and therefore were able to remain at the original St. Ursula's site. PAG submitted another secondary free school bid in 2013 to cater for senior pupils at the St. Ursula's site. In the meantime the St. Ursula's E-ACT Academy said it would consider expanding to provide Secondary places if there was enough parental demand.


Badge and motto

The school's badge and motto was known as the Mercy Shield or Misericordia Shield and is the insignia of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy. It has been a symbol of mercy since the thirteenth century. The motto 'Dominus Illuminatio Mea' is Latin for 'The Lord is my Light'. The Saint Ursula's Serviam badge is a field of seven stars representing The Little Bear Constellation, known as
Ursa Minor Ursa Minor (Latin: 'Lesser Bear', contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, h ...
.


Building and site

The main building is large with a clock tower. It is a Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. There was a sports hall and large playing fields, a forest area and a small garden behind in an estate covering a total of . There were a number of "quads" around the school, some with religious statues and gardens. On the top floor of the school (with the little single square windows) were the old rooms where the boarders used to sleep. They also used to sleep in rooms along the corridor which later housed the kitchen, offices and the senior department library. At the front of the school, next to the main gate, there is a graveyard for the nuns of the Sisters of Mercy.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ursula's School Defunct schools in Bristol Defunct Catholic schools in the Diocese of Clifton Educational institutions established in 1897 Educational institutions disestablished in 2010 1897 establishments in England 2010 disestablishments in England Westbury-on-Trym Sisters of Mercy schools Grade II listed buildings in Bristol E-ACT