A new specialist school has welcomed its first pupils after opening in the historic Melksham House building in the heart of Melksham.
Melksham House School, located next to the community campus in the 17th-century Grade II listed Melksham House building, will provide tailored education for children and young people aged four to 16. The school caters to pupils with complex social, emotional, mental health, or medical needs that have previously made it difficult for them to engage with or attend mainstream education.
Following a successful pre-registration Ofsted inspection, the school offers 42 places for primary-aged children and up to 25 places for secondary-aged pupils from within Wiltshire.
The new provision aims to reduce the need for out-of-county placements, allowing more children to remain close to home while receiving the specialist support they need.
Brunel Education has been appointed to run the new school. As part of Brunel Academies Trust, they already manage several schools in Swindon and Wiltshire and bring valuable experience in specialist education to this new provision.
Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, Cllr Jon Hubbard, said, “We’re happy to be opening Melksham House School here in Wiltshire. It’s great to see this important step in helping children and young people get the support they need close to home.”
Chief Executive Officer of Brunel Education, Jackie Fieldwick MBE, said, “We are absolutely delighted that Melksham House School has now opened. This is a very exciting milestone, not only for us as an organisation, but more importantly for the children and young people, their families and the local community we serve. It is wonderful to see this fantastic building brought to life as a school, now filled with the happy faces of the children who will make it their own. I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to bring this project to life. We cannot wait to see the school flourish in the years to come.”
