New Kingsway school gets the green light
12 January 2012
Students and staff at Kingsway Park High School have got an
extra reason to celebrate the beginning of 2012 as construction
works start on their new school.
£13 million is being spent transforming the Turf Hill Road site
which is due to be completed in Spring 2013 and will accommodate up
to 1200 students.
As part of the project, a new two-storey building will be
constructed at the front of the site to provide new student and
visitors’ entrances and bespoke teaching facilities for art, drama
and music. This building will also include an open plan business/IT
suite and the school’s Achievement Centre.
The student entrance will open into a large flexible space which
can be used for student dining and social activities as well as
informal teaching and learning. The space will be well-lit by a
large triangular roof light, with windows giving views to the
south-west and north of the site.
Careful thought has been given to making sure that
the new school can act as a hub for community activity and learning
with the design team making all the new buildings fully accessible
throughout with a lift to all floors.
Councillor Donna Martin, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools
and Families, said:
“The redevelopment of this school will create some fantastic new
facilities for pupils. The retained teaching blocks will be
significantly refurbished and remodelled to create flexible
learning environments which will excite, inspire and engage
learners. They’ve also been designed to be low-carbon and to reduce
energy use through the installation of high performance windows,
high efficiency lighting and plant.”
Headteacher Deborah Ball added:
“The new building really is another fantastic step towards
improving the life chances and opportunities of young people in
Rochdale. Ofsted agreed that we have made dramatic improvements and
progress since opening only 18 months ago and the opportunity to
design and build something new is a once in a lifetime opportunity
for this area. Creating something that we can all be truly proud of
is what we are aiming to achieve”
Claire Butler, inspiredspaces General Manager who are delivering
the project, said:
“Having worked closely with the Headteacher and school
colleagues to develop detailed designs for their new school, it is
very exciting to see those plans now becoming a reality. I am
confident that the new facilities will help Kingsway Park to
deliver first-class education for many years to come.”
The on-site sports facilities, operated by Link4Life, will
operate as normal during the construction.