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Education Village on schedule for February 2009

Denise Evans
31/ 7/2008

AN INNOVATIVE education village is keeping to its construction schedule and is on course to open its doors to pupils on time.

Higher Blackley Education Village Campus is a huge £25 million Governement investment which promises to bring the whole community together to make the most of its facilities.

The complex is being built on the grounds next to the existing Our Lady's RC Sports College, and once complete, the school will move into the new state-of-the-art building.

The big move is penciled in to take place in February 2009 where pupils will be able to enjoy modern sports facilities, high-tech classrooms and a comfortable learning environment.

Our Lady's already welcomes people from the surrounding community to come along and enjoy the sports hall and facilities and this new development will generate more football pitches and opportunity for local Junior football teams to come along and train.

Iain Gosling, Business Manager at the school, who was fresh from a tour of the development, said: "The development is coming on very well and is on target to be ready for our move in February 2009.

"We are working on developments to provide an all weather pitch for community and school use, which will free up our well used sports hall for sports such as basketball, dance and body-contact sports.

"The whole community will be able to benefit from the new development and the vast majority have been very supportive."

Along with the sports college, which will be re-named, Our Lady's RC High School, once the move is complete, the ground floor of one wing of the main school building will accommodate pupils from North Ridge School in Ancoats.

Around 110 North Ridge special needs pupils will share recreational and catering facilities with 750 from Our Lady's in a bid to integrate mainstream and special needs pupils.

The schools will continue to be run as two separate schools, however there will distinct benefits from co-location.

In addition, Meade Hill School, Crumpsall, will re-locate to grounds within the complex but will run separately to the other two, with a partition fence running around the building.

The campus will be safe and secure with an extensive CCTV camera system set to be fitted around the education village.

Iain said: "The construction company, Laing O'Rourke are doing a fantastic job and we are all very excited and can't wait to move in to the new building.

"We have just been successfull with renewing our sports status and there are plans for further a specialism very soon.

"Its a great time for Our Lady's to celebrate its 50th anniversary and there's a bright future ahead for our pupils and the local community."

The merger of the two schools is part of the Government's 'Build Schools for the Futue' scheme, which is the biggest ever national schools investment programme and hopes to re-develop every secondary school in the UK.