This September they welcomed Reception and Year 1 children enrolled at both schools to learning exclusively at the St Mary’s site, with The Batt site dedicated to children in years 2-6. Wrap-around care and a ‘walking bus’ between St Mary’s and The Batt are provided for families’ convenience. 

St Mary’s is unique as the only ‘Infant’ school in West Oxfordshire, and has a Witney-wide catchment area. It aims to be a centre of excellence for early years education and has recently refurbished its learning environments.

Both St Mary’s and The Batt schools also achieved Ofsted success earlier this year, with reports noting the culture of kindness, ambitious curriculum, and rich extra-curricular and personal development opportunities offered to children.

Executive headteacher of St Mary’s and The Batt schools, Deborah Seccull said

‘St Mary’s is an idyllic site right in the historic centre of Witney, purposely designed for our youngest learners. In bringing all our Reception and Year 1 children to St Mary’s we can develop a centre of excellence for early learning, in a really nurturing environment. Dedicating The Batt School site to years 2-6 will create more space and enable smaller group learning opportunities there, further developing the high-quality education that The Batt has established over many years.’

St Marys will welcome families and the community to visit its historic site and new facilities, during two open mornings on 28 September and 12 October. Formal school tours are also being held on 16 October and 20 November.

Read more in the Witney Gazette