organised by Save Hotwells Primary School 

" Cathedral Schools Trust claims Hotwells Primary is no longer viable and must either close or be merged into Cathedral Primary School (CPS) - taking on its name, uniform, and Church of England designation. They plan to have early years and key stage 1 on the former Hotwells site and key stage 2 at the current CPS site.

In reality, this is not a merger but a takeover that would end 100 years of Hotwells Primary as we know it. Two of the three objectives driving the consultation are not even related to Hotwells: getting more space for Cathedral Primary and helping Bristol reduce primary admission numbers across the city.

The Trust has failed to provide convincing evidence to justify such a drastic decision. Hotwells has had some difficult years with lower pupil numbers, but the Trust's claim that Hotwells is financially unviable is unconvincing. The situation is improving, despite the Trust having made little effort to support or invest in making the school sustainable.

Join us at a community meeting to have your voice heard on this matter and help us to campaign for the community."

This is an open meeting, and more information is available via https://savehotwellsprimary.org/

You can find out more about the Cathedral Schools Trust proposal here

https://www.hotwellsprimaryschool.org/amalgamation-consultation/

HCCA's Chair's response to the Chair of Trustees Sir David Eastwood on 13 June after one of the meetings.

Dear Sir David,

I am writing to you to express our community's concern and dismay over the proposals regarding Hotwells Primary School. I attended one of the public consultation events yesterday and it was clear at the event that there was a lot of confusion, anxiety and anger felt by both parents and the wider community.

As you are no doubt aware, Hotwells Primary School has been at the heart of the local community since it started. In the time that I have lived in the area (over 20 years), it has provided a unique and nurturing educational experience for so many, and been at the heart of our community.

At this point I would like to ask for two things on behalf of the community:

1) We would like to understand better how the Trust has reached its current decision. We understand there were other proposals discussed. It would be useful to know more details about them and why they did not work for you.

Please can you send me details. I'm happy to share them with others in our community.

2) The consultation period appears to have  come very late in the process and is too short.  Many expressed the view that the Trust had not done enough to let community stakeholders know what was happening. For example, I only heard about this two days ago. I urge you to extend the consultation period by a month. I think this would give us more time to understand your thinking and consider our options. It would also demonstrate a willingness to listen, which was not very evident at the meeting last night.

If you were to extend the consultation period we could also support you in reaching more members of the community via our newsletter and a slot at our AGM on 9 July, and, potentially a community meeting.

I look forward to your reply.

With Best Wishes

Rachel McNally