Children learning about the birds and the bats at school

Local wildlife has been benefitting from improvement works to Reading’s school buildings as well as pupils and staff.

Swift boxes have been installed to complete the £1.1m roof replacement project at Alfred Sutton Junior School while bat and bird boxes are being put up at Wilson Primary School where work has recently started.

Pupils have been using their creative skills to make sure all the fixtures for wildlife look their best.

The completion of the Alfred Sutton project in east Reading marks the third roof replacement of Victorian school buildings in the borough, following Oxford Road and Park Lane schools.

Work at the 124-year-old school started in March 2025 and included the full replacement of the roof of the junior school, the addition of further insulation to reduce heat loss, masonry repairs to the chimneys and brickwork, new doors and guttering.

Two swift boxes were installed as the finishing touches were being made, to aid nesting sites for our summer visitors which are now on the UK Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.

At Wilson Primary in west Reading, preparations for the roof replacement works over three buildings found they provided day roosts for common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle and brown long eared bats.

The Council’s contractors, Borras Construction Ltd, are working with ecologists to ensure compliance with legislation to protect the bats, including training on what to do if bats are uncovered during the work and incorporating measures to allow the bats to continue to use the buildings.

In addition, bat boxes and swift boxes decorated by pupils are being installed outside the building. Members of the school council also enjoyed a bat talk by the ecologist working on the site.

Cllr Rachel Eden, Lead Councillor for Education and Public Health, said:

“These projects show how investment in our school buildings can be a win-win: making our beautiful Victorian schools warmer, safer and more energy efficient, while also helping with our journey to net zero.

“It is especially lovely that pupils at Wilson Primary and Alfred Sutton have been able to play a part, from decorating bird and bat boxes to learning more about the bats and swifts that share their school environments.

“By improving insulation, reducing energy use and supporting local wildlife, these works are helping our schools become better places to learn today while caring for the environment pupils will inherit.”

The improvements to both schools are part of Reading’s School Fabric Condition Programme funded by the Department for Education Schools Condition Grant.

As well as keeping the buildings structurally sound and prolonging their life, the improvements help save schools money on their energy bills.

Other recent projects have included the replacement of pitched roofs at Oxford Road Community School, and flat roofs at Caversham Primary School and Geoffrey Fields Infants and Juniors and a major improvement programme at Park Lane Primary School. The junior school had heating upgrades, new windows, replacement roofs a new reception area and library resource spaces while the infants’ site had four new modular classrooms, refurbished reception year space, new play space and upgraded staffroom.