Former Beefeater restaurant to become school facilities

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 06:20 · Archive

The Unicorn School in Abingdon is converting a former Beefeater restaurant into new facilities through a £2m refurbishment programme. The school bought the former Premier Inn and Ock Mill Beefeater restaurant in Marcham Road in 2023 after the Premier Inn chain opened a new hotel elsewhere at the end of 2023, making the old buildings redundant.

The school teaches children with specific learning differences including dyslexia. The refurbishment project, called The Mill, is designed to help young people with special educational needs to gain qualifications and life skills for life beyond the classroom. The new site will open in September 2028 as the school's third location.

The expansion will allow the private school to double its pupil numbers from 120 to 240 over the next few years and increase total capacity to more than 200 pupils. A fundraising drive is under way to support the conversion, which comes as demand for special educational needs support continues to rise. The number of pupils with special educational needs in England has reached more than 1.8 million, an increase of 91,400 in one year.

How it is being reported

• Former Beefeater restaurant is to get £2m refurbishment boostA former Beefeater restaurant in Abingdon is to benefit from a £2m refurbishment programme to convert it into facilities for a schoolOxfordshire Guardian · 1 Nov, 05:00
• Former Beefeater restaurant is to get £2m refurbishment boostA former Beefeater restaurant in Abingdon is to benefit from a £2m refurbishment programme to convert it into facilities for a schoolOxford Mail · 1 Nov, 05:00

In this story: The Unicorn School · Abingdon · Whitbread PLC · Premier Inn · Marcham Road · Marcham Interchange

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