Ian Waller speaks to the head teachers at King Edward’s School in Bath about the ambitious plans to develop the school over the next three years
King Edward’s School, Bath, has announced a £3 million investment to bring its Pre-Prep and Junior Schools together on one site, creating a purpose-built primary school for children aged 3–11.
The development will mean the current Weston Lane Pre-Prep site will close, with all primary pupils joining the junior and senior schools on the North Road campus by September 2027.
Speaking to the head teachers at King Edward’s School in Bath, you quickly sense the excitement and energy as they outline the plans for the school’s future.
Martin Boden, the school’s headmaster, and Sean Price, head of the Junior School (and leading the newly combined Pre-Prep and Junior School), recently invited me to the campus to explain their ambitious vision to bring the school’s pre-prep onto the main North Road site, creating a joined-up 3–18 school and opening up new opportunities for pupils and families.
For Martin and Sean, the plans are about much more than logistics. They are about investment, opportunity and strengthening the sense of one school for current and future families.
“Discussions about this have been going on for many years,” explained Martin. “The current pre-prep has been a wonderful setting, but its remote location has always posed challenges.
“If someone said today, ‘What would be a great idea is to build a part of your school and put it four miles away on the other side of town,’ I’m not sure anyone would plan it that way. We’ve made the best of the arrangement and created a nurturing environment there, but the chance to bring the youngest pupils onto the main campus now feels like the right step for the future.”
Sean added that when he joined the school it quickly became clear the split-site model was not one most schools would design today.
“It just seems like an opportunity too good not to grasp,” he said. “The ability to deliver what we do across the board, not just from 3 to 11 but from 3 to 18, and to have that joined-up approach with everybody on the same site, is a huge enhancement.”
Both heads said the benefits will be practical as well as educational. For families, the new arrangement will simplify daily routines and remove the need for younger children to be taught away from the main campus. For staff, it will make it easier to share expertise, facilities and resources across the whole school.
“For pupils, it will open up a much wider range of opportunities from an earlier age,” explained Sean. “Younger children will have far greater access to facilities already available on the North Road site, including the theatre, sports hall, astroturf and specialist teaching spaces.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got a theatre on site that the younger children have never been able to use easily because you’ve had to get a coach and come across. You have an astroturf and a sports hall, and all of those different things become part of what is offered to them.”
“King Edward’s families typically join the school with a long-term view, expecting their children to move through from the early years to sixth form,” added Martin. “Bringing the pre-prep onto the same campus to join the junior school provision will make that journey feel much more connected from the very beginning.”
Sean said this continuity also strengthens relationships between the school and families.
“You really do build a bond with families. To be able to say, ‘This is your child’s childhood, and this is what you’re trusting us with for the next few years,’ is a really important part of what parents buy into.”
The plans include new purpose-built early years facilities within the North Road campus, with classrooms opening directly onto landscaped outdoor learning areas designed for younger children. The aim is to create flexible spaces that allow pupils to move easily between indoor and outdoor learning throughout the day.
The development of the existing Junior School site will also include a new music classroom, innovation centre and performance space, providing all pupils with a dedicated venue for concerts, assemblies and events.
“Outdoor education is another key part of the vision,” said Sean. “We already have some fantastic resources, including ponds, fire pits and den-building areas, but they haven’t been used as fully as they could be.
“Our plans include a new outdoor classroom and improved natural learning spaces so we can really bring that area to life and strengthen enrichment and outdoor education for all children.”
Across the new early years space, the aim is to preserve the nurturing atmosphere families value while significantly expanding what the school can offer.
“Parents still want that caring, protective environment for very young children,” said Martin. “But they also want specialist music, specialist drama, specialist sport and all the opportunities that come with a school like this. We can do even more of that on one site.”
“One of the biggest advantages will be the aspirational culture that comes from having younger and senior pupils together. Junior children already gain huge value from seeing older pupils perform, compete and lead, and bringing the pre-prep onto the campus will allow that sense of possibility to start even earlier. They can see what the future could look like, and that aspiration becomes part of everyday life.”
The proposals have already been shared with staff and parents, and the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.
Most questions have focused on practical issues such as transport, traffic and the building programme rather than opposition to the plans themselves. The school also prepared detailed information in advance so families would have clear answers from the outset.
The first enabling works could begin as soon as possible, with some lower-impact activity taking place during the summer term and summer holidays. The school is currently working towards September 2027 as the target date for all pupils to be on one site, although some elements could happen earlier depending on progress.
Martin said the plans represent an important moment in the school’s long history and a major investment in its future.
“This is about building for the future rather than simply maintaining what we already have. King Edward’s has evolved many times across its history, and this is another step in that journey. It’s a really exciting opportunity to create something that will benefit pupils and families for generations to come,” he said.
