School’s £2m teaching block wins approval
SOME £2million is set to be invested in a new state-of-the-art classroom block at Shipston-on-Stour High School in a move which will eventually see pupil numbers rise by 150.
Warwickshire County Council has agreed to fund the plan last month which will see around ten new flexible classrooms built, all with multimedia and ICT facilities.
If all goes to plan the new classrooms will be completed in time for the start of term in September 2018 and the school’s intake will increase from the current 500 pupils to 650.
The news is a real boost to the school and comes less than a year after the opening of a new £1.6million maths and languages block.
That building included six new classrooms and an atrium area with ICT facilities.
Gavin Saunders, headteacher at Shipston High, said: “I feel that at the current time, when finances are tight, we are very proud to have achieved this and it’s a real vote of confidence in the school and in our ability to improve further.
"This is the right development for the school. This is something the staff and all the pupils are thrilled about, there is a real sense of excitement in the air.
“We have secured £2million in funding from Warwickshire County Council and we are extremely grateful for their support and recognition of the quality of education we provide.
“At the moment they will be general classrooms but with that flexibility to cater for a range of different subjects.
"Although we have not decided exactly what subjects will be taught in the new rooms, by definition it will help every subject by providing extra space throughout the school.
“The block will include provision for office space and flexible areas to support learning. What we really want to create is a space that is more like students experience at sixth form or university level, which project that work ethic.
“Our new modern languages and maths suite opened last summer and we’re really grateful to have had another major project given the go ahead so soon after that.
“Increasing our intake is good for Shipston because it will enable us to cope with an increasing population in the area. We are oversubscribed as it is, but we would like to offer a place for everyone. Also, the more pupils we have, the better funded the school will be.
“I think it’s all about evolving sensibly but retaining our identity at the school. I look forward to leading a school with 650 pupils that continues at the academic level we are performing at now.”
Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi visited the school on Friday, 10th June, to learn about its successful financial strategy.
