Brackenbury Infant School and Community Nursery
Brackenbury Infant School & Community Nursery is a former infant school and nursery in Fortuneswell. Replacing an earlier school of the same name, Brackenbury School opened in 1991, with the nursery following in 1996. The school taught children from the ages of four to seven, and in 2002, Ofsted reported it was home to 114 pupils, with an additional 31 at the nursery.
After the school's closure in 2013, plans were later made by Portland Town Council for its transformation into a community hub, named the Portland Community Venue, which opened in 2018.
History
Campaign to replace original Brackenbury School
Brackenbury School was built as a replacement to an earlier school of the same name. The original school, first known as the Wesleyan Day School, was established at Fortuneswell in 1845. It later served infants only from 1936 and was taken over as a council-operated school from 1948. In 1946, Dorset County Council first revealed their intentions to build a replacement for the aging school. Although a plot of land was purchased at Verne Common during the 1950s (later the site of Vindelis Court), no new school was constructed. Later a larger plot of land was acquired on the Common behind Ventnor Road, but again no replacement followed.
During the 1980s, unprecedented pressure was placed on the Council for a new school, after a highly critical report, titled "The Facts", was produced by the school's governors in 1983. The report detailed the inadequate, outdated and limited facilities, and the generally poor condition of the existing school, while a government inspection in 1985 commented how the "poor and unsuitable accommodation is seriously affecting the quality of work and achievement of many pupils". With six classes and only three classrooms, some pupils had to be taught in partitioned sections of the school hall.
Support for a new school came from a wide variety of people, including the existing governors and teachers, parents, South Dorset MP Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and Portland Town Council. The Brackenbury Action Association was formed to campaign for new premises and after much publicity on TV and in the press, the County Council agreed to build a replacement. With the earlier proposed site behind Ventnor Road being considered too steep and costly to develop, other areas were considered and allotment land off Three Yards Close was selected as the most suitable site. Although the new school was not expected to open until the early 1990s, the County Council approached the landowner during 1986 and they agreed to sell, with contracts set to be signed by early 1987. However, the landowner's death that year delayed the County Council from acquiring the site until 1988.
Construction and opening of new school
Plans for the new 150-space school were created by the county architect, Richard J. Patterson. The single-storey building was given an open plan design, with five classrooms, three practical areas, a hall and other facilities. In addition to a playground, a large sports field was incorporated into the school grounds. An outline planning application for the school was submitted in April 1988 and approved in December, pending the submission of more detailed plans, including the proposals on landscaping and access. In addition, a road improvement scheme for Clovens Road was demanded. The following application was submitted in April 1989 and approved in September.
In response to the concerns that had been raised about access arrangements and road safety, the County Council made plans for a road improvement scheme. This was scrapped when a house at Clovens Road was earmarked for demolition and purchased through a £50,000 compulsory purchase order, only to find it could not be knocked down due to Underhill's conservation area status. In addition to the school's own layby, ten parking spaces were laid for staff, although some concerns were raised over the limited spaces and the potential impact on surrounding roads.
Construction of the school commenced in 1990 and was completed in April 1991. Although the school building was praised, concerns were raised by some parents and councillors over the small size of the main playground, which measured approximately 42 x 30 feet. In addition to the limited space, it was feared that the surrounding 15 foot wall would pose a danger to children. With the County Council unwilling to allocate further funding, no alterations took place.
On 13 May 1991, the Reception and Year One classes, totalling 97 pupils, moved into the new Brackenbury School, and the opening day was celebrated with a visit by the Weymouth & Portland Mayor and Mayoress, Peter and Ann Rendall. The remaining 47 Year 2 pupils remained at the original Brackenbury School until its final day on 17 May. Later on 6 September 1996, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, officially opened Brackenbury School, along with the new Community Nursery, during his visit to the borough. The ceremony saw the Prince unveil stone tablets on the walls of both buildings.
Establishment of nursery
In 1983, the Brackenbury Family Centre was established in the former telephone exchange at Tillycombe Road, which had been purchased by the County Council in 1975 for use as an additional classroom for the original Brackenbury School. Although the Council originally intended to incorporate the centre into the new school, the £67,000 scheme was dropped in favour of keeping the centre in its original premises, despite local pressure to provide new facilities. A meeting at the Dorchester County Hall confirmed the Council's decision in October 1988, while subsequent lobbying from parents, borough councillors and other concerned parties failed to change their position.
In 1990, the centre became known as the Brackenbury Community Nursery. With the County Council refusing to replace the existing premises, an £80,000 scheme was planned for a new building and fundraising began by the Nursery Building Fund Committee. The £3,000 which had been raised by early 1994 went towards the creation of plans, drawn up by councillor and school governor Les Ames. These were approved and adopted by the County Council and a planning application was submitted in March 1994 to build the nursery at the bottom of the new Brackenbury School grounds. Despite some concerns over parking and traffic, planning was approved in September and construction followed in 1995-96. Most of the required finance was raised by government-related grants, including the Single Regeneration Budget. The self-contained, one-storey nursery opened in March 1996 and was designed with accommodation for 30 children per session.
Construction of replacement school and closure of Brackenbury in 2013
In late 2007, the South West Regional Development Agency approached Dorset County Council with the offer of providing a plot of land at Osprey Quay for a new school, which would replace both Underhill Junior School and Brackenbury Infant School. By this time, the County Council believed the two schools had inadequate facilities to meet modern educational standards, particularly the older Underhill School. Negotiations between the two parties followed, along with Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, while the County Council also commissioned a feasibility study. Plans for the new school were subsequently drawn up and in June 2010, a planning application was submitted for a 315-space primary school and 26-space nursery, which was approved in September. Construction of the new £5.7 million school was carried out in 2011-12, with a planned opening of September 2013.
Meanwhile, in 2008, the newly-formed Chesil Cove Federation took over as the governing body for Brackenbury and Underhill Schools. Later still, in 2012, both schools, along with three others on the island, opted to join together to form the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy. The Academy soon announced that the new Osprey Quay school would serve infants only, a decision which was met with resistance from many parents and sparked an unsuccessful petition.
In September 2012, Brackenbury School opened as one of five IPACA campuses, known as "Brackenbury Campus". It served one school year and closed in July 2013, prior to the opening of new Osprey Quay campus that September, while Underhill School remained open for a further school year. Following Brackenbury School's closure, Brackenbury Nursery became the AbracaDeborah Day Nursery in 2014 and was later taken over by the pre-school Allsorts Brackenbury in 2016.
Community use plans
Faced with an uncertain future, Brackenbury School was left empty and disused for a few years, while the County Council considered whether to retain or sell the building. Later in 2017, it was briefly considered as the site for a potential new free primary school for the island, to be named Portland Primary School. The idea for the new educational facility, revealed in June 2017, was put forward by a group of concerned individuals who felt there was a need for a primary school to serve Underhill. Prompted by IPACA's decision to transfer most of its Osprey Quay pupils to their main campus at Southwell, an application to the Department of Education began to be prepared by the group. Shortly afterwards, the former Brackenbury School, which the County Council had agreed to sell off for development that June, was identified as the best site for the new school.
Calls were made to have the site registered as a community asset, in order to stop it being sold to a developer. Portland Town Council nominated the building in September and it was registered the following month. However, plans for the primary school soon failed to materialise after the County Council raised objections to the idea and questioned whether there was enough demand. Portland Town Council then began to explore the option of purchasing the building for use as a community hub, permanent offices for the council and a new home for Allsorts Brackenbury. Outline plans for the Brackenbury Education and Community Hub (BEACH) were revealed in January 2018. A £100,000 bid for the site was submitted in February and negotiations continued with the County Council, who requested the Town Council present their plans in greater detail and provide evidence of demand for the project.
The County Council approved the Town Council's bid for the school in April, agreeing to sell the property for £325,000 less than its valuation. They believed the BEACH project would provide "significant community benefits" for Portland. That month saw Portland Town Council submit a planning application to change use of the building to a community hub with a mixed use of offices, a nursery, sports hall and function rooms. The application was approved by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council in June, the same month that the Town Council became the new legal owners of the school.
A LEADER grant and a £200,000 public works loan were applied for to cover the purchase costs of the building and its transformation. In October 2018, Southern Dorset Local Action Group presented the council with a LEADER grant of £71,640 as part of the Rural Development Programme for England. After a rename to the Portland Community Venue in September, Portland Town Council began relocating from their Easton office to the new site in November 2018. Allsorts Brackenbury moved from the nursery site to a larger space within the former school in January 2019, allowing them to enhance and expand on their existing services. An official opening took place on 30 March with a "family fun day".
The council have revealed the hub will "provide a range of much-needed services to the community with the aim of boosting the wider economy of the area, especially Underhill, and improving the social and economic conditions and life chances of residents". Various facilities, including a hall, kitchen, meeting rooms and other parts of the building, are available to hire for functions and events. There is a drop-in youth service, while other planned facilities for the venue include a foodbank, free internet café, adult education services and a community garden.
Headteachers
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Brackenbury Infant School & Community Nursery - Fortuneswell - School Brochure - c. late 1990s
2) Brackenbury Infant and Community Nursery: A History 1863-2000 - The Portland Centre Local History Group - c. 2001 - booklet (many thanks to Ray Nowak)
3) Dorset Echo - numerous articles from the online archive from 2003 to 2018 - website page
4) Dorset Echo/Dorset Evening Echo - various articles dating from 1986-96 (many thanks to the Portland Heritage Study Centre)
5) Dorset for You - various planning applications and decisions determined by Dorset County Council - online archive - website page
6) Dorset for You - W&PBC - Planning Application Details - WP/18/00268/FUL (5 Jun 2018) - website page
7) Free Portland News - various issues from 1986-91 (many thanks to the Portland Heritage Study Centre)
8) Plan of Brackenbury Infants' School Portland, dated 1990 (many thanks to the Dorset History Centre)
9) Portland Town Council - Official Website - B.E.A.C.H Project - website page
After the school's closure in 2013, plans were later made by Portland Town Council for its transformation into a community hub, named the Portland Community Venue, which opened in 2018.
History
Campaign to replace original Brackenbury School
Brackenbury School was built as a replacement to an earlier school of the same name. The original school, first known as the Wesleyan Day School, was established at Fortuneswell in 1845. It later served infants only from 1936 and was taken over as a council-operated school from 1948. In 1946, Dorset County Council first revealed their intentions to build a replacement for the aging school. Although a plot of land was purchased at Verne Common during the 1950s (later the site of Vindelis Court), no new school was constructed. Later a larger plot of land was acquired on the Common behind Ventnor Road, but again no replacement followed.
During the 1980s, unprecedented pressure was placed on the Council for a new school, after a highly critical report, titled "The Facts", was produced by the school's governors in 1983. The report detailed the inadequate, outdated and limited facilities, and the generally poor condition of the existing school, while a government inspection in 1985 commented how the "poor and unsuitable accommodation is seriously affecting the quality of work and achievement of many pupils". With six classes and only three classrooms, some pupils had to be taught in partitioned sections of the school hall.
Support for a new school came from a wide variety of people, including the existing governors and teachers, parents, South Dorset MP Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and Portland Town Council. The Brackenbury Action Association was formed to campaign for new premises and after much publicity on TV and in the press, the County Council agreed to build a replacement. With the earlier proposed site behind Ventnor Road being considered too steep and costly to develop, other areas were considered and allotment land off Three Yards Close was selected as the most suitable site. Although the new school was not expected to open until the early 1990s, the County Council approached the landowner during 1986 and they agreed to sell, with contracts set to be signed by early 1987. However, the landowner's death that year delayed the County Council from acquiring the site until 1988.
Construction and opening of new school
Plans for the new 150-space school were created by the county architect, Richard J. Patterson. The single-storey building was given an open plan design, with five classrooms, three practical areas, a hall and other facilities. In addition to a playground, a large sports field was incorporated into the school grounds. An outline planning application for the school was submitted in April 1988 and approved in December, pending the submission of more detailed plans, including the proposals on landscaping and access. In addition, a road improvement scheme for Clovens Road was demanded. The following application was submitted in April 1989 and approved in September.
In response to the concerns that had been raised about access arrangements and road safety, the County Council made plans for a road improvement scheme. This was scrapped when a house at Clovens Road was earmarked for demolition and purchased through a £50,000 compulsory purchase order, only to find it could not be knocked down due to Underhill's conservation area status. In addition to the school's own layby, ten parking spaces were laid for staff, although some concerns were raised over the limited spaces and the potential impact on surrounding roads.
Construction of the school commenced in 1990 and was completed in April 1991. Although the school building was praised, concerns were raised by some parents and councillors over the small size of the main playground, which measured approximately 42 x 30 feet. In addition to the limited space, it was feared that the surrounding 15 foot wall would pose a danger to children. With the County Council unwilling to allocate further funding, no alterations took place.
On 13 May 1991, the Reception and Year One classes, totalling 97 pupils, moved into the new Brackenbury School, and the opening day was celebrated with a visit by the Weymouth & Portland Mayor and Mayoress, Peter and Ann Rendall. The remaining 47 Year 2 pupils remained at the original Brackenbury School until its final day on 17 May. Later on 6 September 1996, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, officially opened Brackenbury School, along with the new Community Nursery, during his visit to the borough. The ceremony saw the Prince unveil stone tablets on the walls of both buildings.
Establishment of nursery
In 1983, the Brackenbury Family Centre was established in the former telephone exchange at Tillycombe Road, which had been purchased by the County Council in 1975 for use as an additional classroom for the original Brackenbury School. Although the Council originally intended to incorporate the centre into the new school, the £67,000 scheme was dropped in favour of keeping the centre in its original premises, despite local pressure to provide new facilities. A meeting at the Dorchester County Hall confirmed the Council's decision in October 1988, while subsequent lobbying from parents, borough councillors and other concerned parties failed to change their position.
In 1990, the centre became known as the Brackenbury Community Nursery. With the County Council refusing to replace the existing premises, an £80,000 scheme was planned for a new building and fundraising began by the Nursery Building Fund Committee. The £3,000 which had been raised by early 1994 went towards the creation of plans, drawn up by councillor and school governor Les Ames. These were approved and adopted by the County Council and a planning application was submitted in March 1994 to build the nursery at the bottom of the new Brackenbury School grounds. Despite some concerns over parking and traffic, planning was approved in September and construction followed in 1995-96. Most of the required finance was raised by government-related grants, including the Single Regeneration Budget. The self-contained, one-storey nursery opened in March 1996 and was designed with accommodation for 30 children per session.
Construction of replacement school and closure of Brackenbury in 2013
In late 2007, the South West Regional Development Agency approached Dorset County Council with the offer of providing a plot of land at Osprey Quay for a new school, which would replace both Underhill Junior School and Brackenbury Infant School. By this time, the County Council believed the two schools had inadequate facilities to meet modern educational standards, particularly the older Underhill School. Negotiations between the two parties followed, along with Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, while the County Council also commissioned a feasibility study. Plans for the new school were subsequently drawn up and in June 2010, a planning application was submitted for a 315-space primary school and 26-space nursery, which was approved in September. Construction of the new £5.7 million school was carried out in 2011-12, with a planned opening of September 2013.
Meanwhile, in 2008, the newly-formed Chesil Cove Federation took over as the governing body for Brackenbury and Underhill Schools. Later still, in 2012, both schools, along with three others on the island, opted to join together to form the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy. The Academy soon announced that the new Osprey Quay school would serve infants only, a decision which was met with resistance from many parents and sparked an unsuccessful petition.
In September 2012, Brackenbury School opened as one of five IPACA campuses, known as "Brackenbury Campus". It served one school year and closed in July 2013, prior to the opening of new Osprey Quay campus that September, while Underhill School remained open for a further school year. Following Brackenbury School's closure, Brackenbury Nursery became the AbracaDeborah Day Nursery in 2014 and was later taken over by the pre-school Allsorts Brackenbury in 2016.
Community use plans
Faced with an uncertain future, Brackenbury School was left empty and disused for a few years, while the County Council considered whether to retain or sell the building. Later in 2017, it was briefly considered as the site for a potential new free primary school for the island, to be named Portland Primary School. The idea for the new educational facility, revealed in June 2017, was put forward by a group of concerned individuals who felt there was a need for a primary school to serve Underhill. Prompted by IPACA's decision to transfer most of its Osprey Quay pupils to their main campus at Southwell, an application to the Department of Education began to be prepared by the group. Shortly afterwards, the former Brackenbury School, which the County Council had agreed to sell off for development that June, was identified as the best site for the new school.
Calls were made to have the site registered as a community asset, in order to stop it being sold to a developer. Portland Town Council nominated the building in September and it was registered the following month. However, plans for the primary school soon failed to materialise after the County Council raised objections to the idea and questioned whether there was enough demand. Portland Town Council then began to explore the option of purchasing the building for use as a community hub, permanent offices for the council and a new home for Allsorts Brackenbury. Outline plans for the Brackenbury Education and Community Hub (BEACH) were revealed in January 2018. A £100,000 bid for the site was submitted in February and negotiations continued with the County Council, who requested the Town Council present their plans in greater detail and provide evidence of demand for the project.
The County Council approved the Town Council's bid for the school in April, agreeing to sell the property for £325,000 less than its valuation. They believed the BEACH project would provide "significant community benefits" for Portland. That month saw Portland Town Council submit a planning application to change use of the building to a community hub with a mixed use of offices, a nursery, sports hall and function rooms. The application was approved by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council in June, the same month that the Town Council became the new legal owners of the school.
A LEADER grant and a £200,000 public works loan were applied for to cover the purchase costs of the building and its transformation. In October 2018, Southern Dorset Local Action Group presented the council with a LEADER grant of £71,640 as part of the Rural Development Programme for England. After a rename to the Portland Community Venue in September, Portland Town Council began relocating from their Easton office to the new site in November 2018. Allsorts Brackenbury moved from the nursery site to a larger space within the former school in January 2019, allowing them to enhance and expand on their existing services. An official opening took place on 30 March with a "family fun day".
The council have revealed the hub will "provide a range of much-needed services to the community with the aim of boosting the wider economy of the area, especially Underhill, and improving the social and economic conditions and life chances of residents". Various facilities, including a hall, kitchen, meeting rooms and other parts of the building, are available to hire for functions and events. There is a drop-in youth service, while other planned facilities for the venue include a foodbank, free internet café, adult education services and a community garden.
Headteachers
- Mrs. Ann Hack – 1991-2000
- Mrs. Zoe Green – 2000-09
- Mr. Neil McDermott – 2009-12
- Mr. Darren Marklew – 2012-13
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Brackenbury Infant School & Community Nursery - Fortuneswell - School Brochure - c. late 1990s
2) Brackenbury Infant and Community Nursery: A History 1863-2000 - The Portland Centre Local History Group - c. 2001 - booklet (many thanks to Ray Nowak)
3) Dorset Echo - numerous articles from the online archive from 2003 to 2018 - website page
4) Dorset Echo/Dorset Evening Echo - various articles dating from 1986-96 (many thanks to the Portland Heritage Study Centre)
5) Dorset for You - various planning applications and decisions determined by Dorset County Council - online archive - website page
6) Dorset for You - W&PBC - Planning Application Details - WP/18/00268/FUL (5 Jun 2018) - website page
7) Free Portland News - various issues from 1986-91 (many thanks to the Portland Heritage Study Centre)
8) Plan of Brackenbury Infants' School Portland, dated 1990 (many thanks to the Dorset History Centre)
9) Portland Town Council - Official Website - B.E.A.C.H Project - website page
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
Many thanks to Ray Nowak of Portland Town Council for allowing access so that these photographs could be taken in 2018.
Many thanks to Ray Nowak of Portland Town Council for allowing access so that these photographs could be taken in 2018.
