Independent special school expanding in Shrewsbury
An independent special school has completed the letting of the Kingsland Grange and Old Roman Road school site in Shrewsbury as part of its expansion.
Bettws Lifehouse, which opened near Newtown in 2007, is a school for pupils aged between five and 19 with additional educational needs.
It currently operates over two sites in Mid Wales, with the Lower School based in Bettws Cedewain and the Upper School and Post-16 in Welshpool.
The school’s new Shrewsbury site in Kingsland, which occupies a parkland location south west of the town centre, hopes to welcome its first pupils for the autumn term.
Kay Jones, proprietor and managing director of Bettws Lifehouse, said: "We first visited the site at Kingsland Grange in Shrewsbury in August, 2021. It was an impressive property, with a fantastic range of buildings and most unusually, some wonderful parkland and playing fields. We instantly knew this was a chance in a lifetime as it fitted our requirements so perfectly.
"As a school for children with additional needs, finding the right setting is crucial. The ambience and the ‘feel’ of a site really impacts on the pupils. A sense of calm and tranquillity has such a positive impact on outcomes.
"One only has to set foot through the gates at Kingsland Grange to have that wonderful sense of being wrapped in a caring community. Money can’t buy that.
"Our plans hope to have our first pupils enrolled in the autumn term and, in that first year, we will start to regenerate the grounds to their former beauty and develop the woodland into a wonderful adventure learning area.
"We are very much looking forward to settling into the Shrewsbury community and making use of all the amenities around us."
The Kingsland Grange and Old Roman Road school site, set within about12.6 acres, was marketed by Towler Shaw Roberts, with Toby Shaw handling the letting to Bettws Lifehouse.
He said: "It’s an iconic property with an immense history. It stimulated strong interest and we received some very interesting enquiries for potential different types of use.
"We are delighted that Bettws Lifehouse has secured the site and it’s wonderful that the lovely grounds and recreational facilities will continue to be used for education.”
On behalf of the property owners, David Groves said that they were delighted that Bettws Lifehouse would be starting an exciting new chapter in the life of Kingsland Grange, which has a rich educational heritage due to the success of KG Prep School which Alan and Richard Groves ran for many years.
The site had been operated by Shrewsbury High Preparatory School – a co-educational independent school for pupils up to the age of 13 – since 2007.
Plans were announced by Shrewsbury High School in 2020 for its junior and senior departments, which had been on two separate sites, to unite on one site as part of its ongoing development and aspirations for the future.
Prep school pupils and staff moved to the school’s town centre site on Town Walls last September.
Situated within a conservation area, the school features five principal buildings, with a total floor area of about 25,211 sq ft.
They include academic space, art, design and technology studios, sports hall, offices, stores, dining room and a separate pre-prep/nursery facility.
The original Grade II Listed main house is a substantial building dating from 1884.
More contemporary buildings have been constructed on the site to provide teaching, sporting and dining room facilities of a modern high standard, with external parking and outdoors areas.
