Breaking Ground at The Marlborough C of E School

The ground-breaking ceremony at The Marlborough School officially took place on Wednesday 25th June 2025. Work will now begin in earnest on the multi-million project to build a new two-storey teaching block, new changing rooms, new state of the art toilets, a refurbished and enhanced natural habitat area, as well as extended coach and car parking facilities at the side and front of the school.

We were joined for this special event by a number of guests. These included Jeremy Long, the Chair of Trustees of River Learning Trust, and Bishop Colin Fletcher, who is also a Trustee of River Learning Trust and a regular supporter of the school. Before the ground breaking ceremony, Bishop Colin and Mr Long officially signed the contracts to begin the work. Also representing River Learning Trust was Susie Morrisey, Transformation Director.

Also present were representatives from Thinking Buildings, the Architect firm who have designed the new building, Darren and Rachel Aspinall. They were joined by James Clarke, Director of SKP3, Michael Stopp, Project Manager with Edgar Taylor, and Henry Colver, the Associate Director of Edgar Taylor. Oxfordshire County Council, who are providing the funding for the project, were represented by Jenny Seddon, Strategic Liaison Manager at Oxfordshire County Council.

The school was represented by the joint Chair of Governors, Valerie Munro and Kate Pick and Sara Rowley, School Business Manager and Clerk to the Governing Body and Jon Townsend, Site Manager.

The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of the next academic year, in time to welcome an increased intake of 210 pupils in September 2026. The new build and improved facilities will allow more families from the local community to access our high quality educational provision. Marlborough is one of the most over-subscribed schools in Oxfordshire, with its results at Key Stage 4 placing it in the top 10% of schools nationally, and results at Key Stage 5 in the top 2%.

Weekly updates following the progress of the expansion can be found on our website here.