Official opening of Aureus Primary School
A new Oxfordshire primary school marked its official opening 100 days into its first term when the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire cut the ribbon with his ceremonial sword.
Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire was among special guests who arrived at Aureus Primary School in Didcot to celebrate the 100 days opening with staff, pupils, family and guests. He carried out the ceremonial opening on Wednesday (12/12) and was welcomed to the school by Executive Headteacher Hannah Wilson.
The state-of-the-art school on the Great Western Park development opened in September and, when full, will have a total capacity of 420 pupils. Pupils practise mindfulness techniques each day to provide them with a toolkit for thriving both throughout school and into adulthood.
Ms Wilson, who also leads the Aureus School which caters for secondary age students, said she was delighted to welcome the visitors to its sibling primary school. Both are members of the multi academy trust GLF Schools which manages 30 schools across five counties in southern England.
There were tours and afternoon tea which allowed guests the chance to take a closer look at the new facilities. Aureus Primary is a STEAM school - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths and learning opportunities are enriched with support by specialist teachers from the secondary school.
"Our vision for Aureus extends beyond the classroom to the culture and ethos which is at the heart of our school's environment and our first 100 days have been fantastic," said Ms Wilson.
"We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination to grow, learn and flourish and the feedback we had from our guests has been overwhelmingly positive," she added.
Class names are inspired by meadow flowers and the school enjoys a huge outdoor learning space, with plans for a sensory garden and wildlife area.
The school was designed and built by Oxfordshire County Council.
