Back to school this week also meant a new school site for some as the merger of two Leeds schools completed.

Around 2,000 pupils are now based at the same site on the Alwoodley Gates campus for the first time in the school’s history.

The move is the final piece of the jigsaw following the 2008 merger of Leeds Grammar School and Leeds Girls’ High School to form GSAL.

Until now, the youngest children on site were Year 3 but since school started again for the new term yesterday (Tuesday), they will be joined by pupils in Nursery to Year 2, who were previously based at Rose Court in Headingley.

Pupils enjoy their first day at the new GSAL Primary School in their Year 1 bubble.

placeholder image — Pupils enjoy their first day at the new GSAL Primary School in their Year 1 bubble.

The Alwoodley site has been extensively refurbished so that Nursery to Year 4 can be housed in the former junior school building with Years 5 and 6 joined by an elevated glass walkway to their own corridors, previously part of the senior school building.

Gabrielle Solti, Vice Principal and Head of Primary School, joined GSAL last September to lead the big move.

She said: “Creating a new primary school fit for the future has been hugely exciting. This has given us the opportunity not only to develop state of the art learning environments but also to enable exciting new approaches to how we teach children both inside and outside. There were huge smiles on the children’s faces this morning as they saw the transformation.”

Principal Sue Woodroofe added: “This is a very special moment for me; it has been my goal since joining the school four years ago to bring the whole GSAL family together as a single school community, sharing our daily experience of school life in this outstanding learning environment. I am so grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen, particularly in such challenging times.

“We are excited to welcome all the pupils back this week, from Nursery to Sixth Form, and it will be wonderful to have a school buzzing with young people again.”

The Rose Court site at Headingley has sincebeen acquired by Leeds City Council to create a new school for pupils aged four-16 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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Laura Collins