Mary Hare Primary School - Now Open!
This September has marked a landmark occasion for us at Mary Hare School as we opened our brand-new Primary School for the very first time to welcome the pupils and parents.
In 2017 we launched our appeal to build a brand-new purpose built Primary School. As many will know, the Primary School had been based at Mill Hall since it moved there in 1996 from Sussex (where it was formerly Mill Hall Oral School for the deaf) and five years ago we set the ambitious plan to build a new school and relocate the Primary School onto the Secondary School site at Snelsmore. The Mary Hare Foundation set its target at raising £4 million towards the project and in June 2021 we marked the groundbreaking event and the construction of the new school commenced.
On Wednesday 10 August this year the keys from the contractor, Beard, were officially handed to us, and staff waved goodbye to its old home at Mill Hall and have been making the big move this summer into the new building ready for the new academic year.
Robin Askew, Principal of Mary Hare, says ‘We are delighted to have now opened our brand-new Primary School. It has been a project long in the making and we are extremely grateful for all the donations and support from charitable trusts and many individuals that have enabled us to continue to invest in the future of education for deaf children.’
The new school has been designed to maximise the learning experience for deaf young people, which includes state of the art acoustics, a d-shape building to amplify how speech is carried throughout the building, along with the school’s own bespoke engineered group aid system that operates wirelessly between pupils and teachers in the classroom.
Robin continues, ‘Having both schools together on one site will lead to greater efficiencies and collaboration while moving forward with a ‘together but separate’ approach. The opening of the new school holds close to our mission to transform the lives of deaf children and their families. I hope that lots of families with primary aged deaf children will come and see the new school for themselves. We are here to provide the very best support for their children.’
Jamie Harwood, Beard’s Swindon director, said 'Our expertise in the education sector means we understand the importance of creating spaces which both promote a culture of learning for pupils and are world-class workplaces for teachers and staff. Beard is proud to have delivered a resource of such national importance for the teaching of deaf children.'
It has been a long journey and we couldn't be more thrilled to finally have the new school open. If you are interested in visiting our Primary School, you can fill in this form, and we will be in touch to arrange your visit.
Watch our pupils' first reactions to their new school!