What's Next: Growing Hotwells Primary

The immediate threat has been averted, but the school faces ongoing financial challenges due to low student enrollment.

Our mission now is to ensure the school thrives by increasing student numbers through community outreach, raising awareness, and showcasing what makes Hotwells exceptional.

How You Can Help

We are steaming ahead with plans to let parents know about this amazing school - improving the website, social media, flyers. The next deadline is for Reception choices in January.

• Spread the Word: Tell families in the Hotwells, Harbourside, Clifton, and surrounding areas about the school. Many local residents don't know it exists or understand what it offers.
• Share Your Story: If you're a current or former parent, share your positive experiences with neighbors, on social media, and in community groups.
• Attend Open Days: Encourage prospective families to visit the school and see firsthand the nurturing environment and excellent teaching.
• Support Marketing Efforts: Help with community events, school fairs, and outreach activities that showcase Hotwells to potential families.
• Contact Us: If you have ideas, connections, or skills that could help with publicity and outreach, please get in touch at contact@savehotwellsprimary.org

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What Happened: The Merger Threat

In 2025, Cathedral Schools Trust proposed that Hotwells Primary was 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 planned to have early years and key stage 1 on the former Hotwells site and key stage 2 at the current CPS site.

(Read more about the rejected proposal…)

The community recognized this was not a merger but a takeover that would have ended 100 years of Hotwells Primary as we know it. While CPS's lower years would have had access to the Hotwells site and its valuable and recently renovated facilities, the split site setup with so much space between sites had significant logistical issues.

The Trust failed to provide convincing evidence to justify such a drastic decision. While Hotwells has had some difficult years with lower pupil numbers, the Trust's claim that Hotwells was financially unviable was unconvincing. The Trust had made little effort to support or invest in making the school sustainable. Many in the local area were unaware of the school, highlighting the lack of marketing in recent years.

On 19th November 2025, the Department for Education rejected this proposal. However, the underlying challenges remain: Hotwells is a high-performing, inclusive school that plays a vital role in the local community and provides the kind of nurturing environment that many children simply won't find elsewhere, but it needs more students to be financially sustainable.

What We Stand to Lose

A High-Achieving, Supportive, Community-Driven School

Hotwells provides a uniquely nurturing environment rooted in its small size, non-uniform, and inter-year support. Academically it exceeds the national SATS exceeds-expectations by 10-20% placing the school among Bristol's top performers.

Ofsted rated Hotwells "Good" in September 2022, praising its inclusive, nurturing ethos where "pupils feel safe and well looked after" and "enjoy coming to school and take pride in their work". They also said that parental feedback was the most overwhelmingly positive they had ever seen, testament to the loyalty it inspires.

For many children, especially those who struggle in larger, more formal settings, Hotwells offers the individual attention and emotional safety they need to thrive. This kind of care and level of achievement is much harder to replicate in a larger school.

Loss of a Secular Choice

Hotwells is the only non-religious school in the ward and many families chose it for exactly that reason. The proposed merger would impose a Church of England ethos, undermining the school's inclusive identity and alienating families who value secular education.

Deep Community Integration

Hotwells is a vital part of local life. From the West Bristol Arts Trail to the Hotwells Panto and the inter-generational lunch club, the school plays a key role in bringing people together across age and background. Losing it would mean severing these long-standing community ties.

Child Independence and Local Connection

Children walk to Hotwells. They visit friends, grow in confidence, and develop independence in a safe and familiar environment. Parents know each other, support one another, and build strong informal networks.

Whether the school is closed outright or merged into a split-site arrangement, many children will face longer journeys and risk being separated from their peers. Families who currently walk will be forced to drive, increasing traffic and congestion in the city centre at an already busy time, undermining Bristol's sustainable transport goals. The close-knit, walkable community that Hotwells fosters will be lost.

Supporting Local Growth

Many current pupils live in the local flats. Over 1,000 new homes are planned in the Harbour-side area. Closing Hotwells now would leave this growing population under-served and force more families to travel further afield. Keeping Hotwells open is essential for future school place planning and a sustainable, walkable community. The merger does not guarantee the number of places reserved for the local community in the new school.

Jump ahead to what you can do to help, or continue reading to learn more about what happened and the campaign that helped save the school.

The Campaign: What Happened

The Rejected Merger Proposal and Counter-Proposal

Note: The trust's proposal was rejected by the Department for Education on 19th November 2025. This information is preserved for historical reference.

The Cathedral Schools Trust (CST) put forward a proposal initially that was opposed strongly, particularly by CPS parents, so a revised proposal for the amalgamation was released, aiming to form a single primary school known as Cathedral Primary School.

See full updated proposal here and their revised FAQs.

CST's Revised Proposal (currently assumed abandoned)

• Amalgamation Date: The single primary school would be formed from September 1, 2026.
• Site Usage: The long-term plan is for Key Stage 1 (Reception, Year 1, Year 2) provision to be on the Hotwells Primary School site and Key Stage 2 (Years 3, 4, 5, 6) provision on the Cathedral Primary School site from September 2028. There would be an interim arrangement for 2026/27.
• Transition: A more gradual transition is proposed, meaning no existing Cathedral Primary School (CPS) children (including the Reception 2025 cohort) would need to move site. There would be no changes for existing Hotwells Primary School children until September 2027.
• Admissions: The proposal to change admission arrangements for Bristol Cathedral Choir School (BCCS) for 2026/27 has been removed. For Cathedral Primary School for 2026/27, 20% of places would be based on distance to Hotwells Primary School, with the remainder allocated by random ballot. Distance is now measured to the Hotwells site.

Reasons for Proposal (from CST):

• To ensure strong, sustainable schools.
• To maintain provision on both sites and ensure a school continues to serve the Hotwells/Harbourside community.
• To address concerns about the volume of pupils on the Cathedral Primary School site by providing a more appropriate learning environment for younger children at Hotwells.
• To support city-wide efforts to reduce primary school places.

Major Points For and Against the CST Proposal

Points For (from CST's perspective):

• Financial Sustainability: Addresses the financial deficit faced by Hotwells Primary School (currently around £100,000 annually, with a cumulative deficit of approximately £500,000). Although nothing of Hotwells is being kept, as it's called a merger the trust will receive additional grants awarded to merged schools as well as split site grants.
• Optimized Learning Environment: Provides more outdoor space for Early Years and KS1 at the Hotwells site and supports transition to BCCS for KS2 children at the Cathedral site.
• Maintains "Provision" in Hotwells: Ensures an educational presence remains in the Hotwells area.
• Reduces City-Wide Places: Contributes to the overall reduction in primary school places needed across Bristol due to falling birth rates.

Points Against (from parents and community):

• Effective Closure of Hotwells: Many feel it's a closure, not a merger, leading to the loss of Hotwells Primary School's unique ethos, secular nature, small class sizes, and strong community identity.
• Disruption for Hotwells Children: Even with a staggered transition, children will eventually move sites and potentially merge into larger, unfamiliar classes.
• Logistical Challenges: Parents with children in different key stages would face difficulties with drop-offs and pick-ups at two sites a mile apart. This could increase traffic and stress.
• Loss of Community Hub: Hotwells Primary serves as a vital community hub, offering extended services and inter-generational activities that might be lost. Note that the updated proposal is worse in this regard as very few places will be local.
• Executive salaries: The Trust's executive salaries have also significantly increased during the period since taking on HPS, despite Hotwells' deficit.
• Inadequate Consultation: The initial consultation period was very short (four weeks), and parents feel they weren't adequately informed or given enough time to respond or propose alternatives. Given the extension, this has been in part resolved.
• Contradiction with Council Strategy: Bristol City Council's stated strategy for reducing primary places is to reduce Published Admission Numbers (PAN) at larger schools, not close smaller ones.
• Future Demand: Upcoming housing developments in the Hotwells/Harbourside area are expected to increase demand for primary school places, making the closure short-sighted.

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Hotwells Parents/Governors Alternative Proposal

See full proposal here

A counter-proposal was developed by Hotwells parents and governors, focusing on keeping Hotwells Primary School open as an independent, secular, non-uniform community school.

Major Points:

• Maintain Hotwells as Is: Hotwells Primary would remain a one-form entry school (around 30 pupils per year group), retaining its name, ethos, and catchment area.
• Tier 2 Feeder Status for BCCS: Year 6 pupils from Hotwells would gain "second tier" feeder status for Bristol Cathedral Choir School (BCCS). This means Hotwells children would be allocated places after CPS children but before general applications.
• CPS Reduces to One-Form Entry: Cathedral Primary School would gradually reduce its intake to one-form entry over a six-year period. This would free up space at CPS and help to balance pupil numbers across the city.

Benefits (as proposed by Hotwells parents/governors):

• Retains Hotwells' Identity: Preserves a century-old community school.
• Avoids Split Site Issues: Eliminates the logistical and traffic problems associated with children attending two different sites.
• Addresses Financial Deficit: Feeder status to BCCS would boost admissions at Hotwells, helping to clear its deficit over time.
• Supports Council's Strategy: Aligns with the local authority's preference for reducing PAN at larger schools over closing smaller ones.
• Benefits for CPS: Smaller cohort at CPS as it transitions to one-form entry, addressing their space concerns.
• Supports SEND Provision: Allows for better support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in smaller, more personal settings at both schools. It also addresses the city's desperate need for more SEND places, potentially attracting additional funding.
• Preserves Educational Choice: Maintains a non-religious primary school option in the area.
• No Disruption for Current CPS pupils: The phased reduction means no existing CPS children would be forced to move site.
• No Disruption for Current HPS pupils: pupils would continue their primary school education with their friends and trusted teachers.
• Less Disruption for CST: Removes the onerous requirement on CST to develop and manage a complex merger including disruption to personnel at both sites, management of extended and offset school days and extensive consultation and stakeholder management to attempt to sell their unpopular and disruptive proposal.

Potential Arguments Against this Proposal (from various parties):

• Impact on CPS/BCCS Places: CPS parents are concerned that even "tier 2" feeder status for Hotwells would dilute their children's access to BCCS, especially for siblings. Some CPS parents have come round once they got all the details, though this is not universal.
• Staff Redundancies at CPS: If CPS reduces to one-form entry, there would likely be staff redundancies. Though as they all work for the same trust there is a chance of redeployment.
• Adjudicator Challenge (from Neil Blundell): Neil Blundell argues that granting Hotwells feeder status would be thrown out by the adjudicator (Office of the Schools Adjudicator) due to other geographically nearer Trust primaries. However, others in the know have disputed this, stating that the adjudicator only gets involved if a complaint is made and that previous opposition to feeder schools was based on concerns about "elite cohorts" which could be mitigated by prioritising "pupil premium" children. Additionally, there are no nearer primary schools in the Cathedral Schools Trust. There is a non-trust primary "Willow Park" which we understand is not currently interested in joining the MAT.
• Risk of Failure: Some believe this proposal leaves Hotwells in "too risky a position," fearing it might still "crash for lack of cash and pupils" if the feeder status is overturned or doesn't attract enough new pupils. It could be viewed that the "merger" option is an automatic failure as the school will no longer exist.
• Cost: The new proposal would need to be financially modelled, and there is a risk that the trust will not be willing to proceed with it if it costs too much, even if it is a better option for the schools and the wider community.

Stakeholder's points of view

• Cathedral Schools Trust (CST): Financial viability, ensuring strong and sustainable schools, and managing pupil numbers across their trust (including addressing space at CPS).
• Hotwells Primary Parents/Community: Preserving the unique identity, ethos, and community role of Hotwells Primary, ensuring a local, non-religious school option, and minimizing disruption for their children.
• Cathedral Primary School Parents: Initially focused on avoiding the split-site model and protecting their children's access to BCCS. Some are open to collaboration with Hotwells, while others prioritize minimising any changes to their school.
• Bristol City Council: Reducing overall primary school places in the city, avoiding school closures wherever possible, and ensuring equitable access to education (including for disadvantaged and SEND children). They need to increase specific SEND spaces in Bristol schools (currently a sizable deficit in spaces) so any proposal that helps with this would likely be seen favourably.

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Timeline of what's happened so far

Also see relevant historical timeline of the school.

• June 3, 2025: The Cathedral Schools Trust formally opened a consultation on the amalgamation of Hotwells Primary and Cathedral Primary Schools.
• June 10 & 12, 2025: The Trust held initial in-person consultation meetings. Parents and community members raised concerns about the lack of alternatives presented and the short consultation period.
• June 19, 2025: Hotwells parents launched their own online petition against the closure/merger, advocating for keeping Hotwells open.
• June 23, 2025: The Bristol Post and Bristol 247 covered the growing opposition, highlighting concerns from both Hotwells and Cathedral Primary parents.
• June 26, 2025: The National Secular Society voiced support for Hotwells, emphasizing the importance of preserving secular school options.
• July 1, 2025: A community meeting organized by Hotwells parents and governors developed the alternative proposal for Hotwells to remain open with a "tier 2" feeder status to BCCS and for CPS to reduce to one-form entry. Councillor Christine Townsend indicated potential council support for this if it prioritises disadvantaged pupils.
• July 7, 2025: The Trust released a revised proposal extending the consultation period to September 19, 2025, and making some concessions to Cathedral Primary School parents regarding admissions (taking fewer pupils from the Hotwells area) and a more staggered transition.
• July 9, 2025: Further FOI requests were fulfilled, providing more internal documents from the Trust. These documents reveal that the idea of Hotwells as a feeder school to BCCS had been discussed internally multiple times over several years, but ultimately not pursued, partly due to assumptions about council opposition (which have now been challenged). It was also revealed that a long lease on the St George's site was denied to CST, potentially influencing their pursuit of the Hotwells site.
• July 15, 2025: Another consultation drop-in event was held. Only one Hotwells parent attended this session with mostly CPS parents. They presented the Hotwells alternative proposal, which CPS parents "nodded and said yes" to, suggesting a potential for broader support.
• July 17, 2025: A joint Zoom meeting was held between Hotwells and Cathedral Primary parents to discuss common ground and the Hotwells alternative proposal. Early feedback from this meeting suggests CPS parents are receptive and sympathetic, realising they are "on the same page" in doing what's best for their children. However, protecting a primary space for younger siblings is a priority for some CPS parents. There was some discussion over whether a "temporary increase in PAN" (initially suggested as a possibility by Neil Blundell to accommodate Hotwells pupils moving into current 2-form entry at CPS) could be used to accommodate current CPS pupil's siblings under the governors' proposal.
• 15th August 2025: meetings held with the Council lead on Children and Young People concerning admissions arrangements and the School Adjudicator.
• August 2025: development of the Hotwells proposal to make it a community- wide alternative.
• 28th August: proposal shared with CPS parents on their WhatsApp group.
• 10th September: meeting with Neil Blundell CEO of the CST to present the alternative proposal and ask for consultation on it.
• 19th September: current consultation period closed.
• 2nd October: Trust board meeting following consultation period.
• 7th October: The CST Board provisionally approved the amalgamation proposal, subject to final approval by the Department for Education (DfE). This rejected the Hotwells community counter-proposal. Governors, parents and councillors met with Neil Blundell to discuss and requested risk register of proposals.
• 20th October: CST provided the requested Risk Registers for both the CST proposal and the Hotwells community proposal. The analysis of the Hotwells counter-proposal was partial and limited.
• 27th October: Hotwells parents and stakeholders met to discuss the DfE submission and the community responses.
• 12th November: Deadline for the public to submit comments directly to the DfE South West Advisory Board (responses before end of 12th November)
• 18th November: Hotwells parents on BBC Points West and BBC News
• 19th November: DfE South West Advisory Board meeting where the CST amalgamation proposal was formally reviewed. The Department for Education rejected the Cathedral Schools Trust's proposal to merge Hotwells Primary School with Cathedral Primary School. This decision validated the concerns raised by parents, governors, and local stakeholders about the merger plan.

What This Means Going Forward

While the DfE rejection is a significant victory, it does not guarantee the long-term future of Hotwells Primary School. The school still faces financial challenges due to low student enrollment. The focus now shifts to:

• Community Outreach: Raising awareness of the school among local families
• Growing Enrollment: Increasing student numbers to ensure financial sustainability
• Showcasing Excellence: Promoting the school's outstanding academic results and nurturing environment
• Building Partnerships: Working with the Trust and community to support the school's growth

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Press Coverage

The campaign to save Hotwells Primary School has received significant media attention. This coverage has helped raise awareness of the school and the issues it faces.

• 21st November 2025: National Secular Society - 100 year old secular school saved from faith school takeover
• 20th November 2025: Bristol 247 - Primary schools amalgamation refused by Department for Education
• 18th November 2025: BBC Points West (TV) - Hotwells parent Alastair interviewed on BBC local news for the South West (first item in the show)
• 18th November 2025: BBC News (Online) - Article covering concerns around logistics and lack of real consultation
• June 23, 2025: Bristol Post and Bristol 247 - Coverage of growing opposition from both Hotwells and Cathedral Primary parents
• June 26, 2025: National Secular Society - Support for Hotwells, emphasizing the importance of preserving secular school options

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Historical timeline of Hotwells as an Academy

2014: Hotwells Primary became an academy under a standalone Academy Trust.

2018: Hotwells Primary received an "Improvement Needed" Ofsted rating, impacting pupil numbers.

2018-2019: The previous headteacher and chair of governors at Hotwells tried unsuccessfully to form a new Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) with other local schools.

2021: Hotwells Primary School joined the Cathedral Schools Trust (CST). CST took on the school despite knowing about its deficit and low pupil numbers, with assurances that Hotwells' unique nature would be protected.

Early 2020s: Hotwells Primary continued to face financial challenges, accumulating a deficit of approximately £500,000 (currently about £100,000 annually). The school reduced vital resources and merged classes (e.g., Year 2 & 3) as cost-cutting measures, sometimes turning away potential in-year transfers who couldn't fit into combined classes.

March 2023: Hotwells Primary received a "Good" Ofsted rating. The Trust reportedly "hoped" this would reverse admissions decline, but parents argue no dedicated marketing strategy was implemented.

2023-July 2025: Hotwells lost two classrooms, toilets and school hall to repair works necessary after broken pipes and heating system caused widespread damage. The early years playground was dismantled and replaced with a large portacabin. No additional or off campus space was allocated and tours for prospective parents were made around a building site, managed by school staff already stretched to breaking point by "efficiencies".

July 2024: Hotwells primary school ranked 12th in Bristol for SAT results

July 2025: Hotwells SAT results reportedly the best in the trust. Reading results placed Hotwells Primary second of all schools in Bristol.