News archive
February 2010
School celebrates milestone in major redevelopment
Students, staff and governors at Ashton Park School were joined by the Lord Mayor of Bristol in celebrating a special event on Wednesday 24 February 2010.
They took part in a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony marking completion of the structure of a new three-storey building that replaces 50-year-old teaching blocks.
The building is the key part of a major redevelopment of the secondary school at Blackmoor’s Lane, Bower Ashton, by Bristol Local Education Partnership (LEP) with the project development and construction group Skanska.
The new teaching block is due to open for the start of the next school year in September and will include rooms specially designed for art and science. It will accommodate classes now being taught in temporary units installed before construction work started.
The redevelopment will later include a new block linking the new and existing buildings to provide better communication across the site, as well as landscaping. The work is due for completion by summer 2011.
Chris Gardner, Headteacher, said: "Ashton Park students and staff are really looking forward to moving into our new £18m building in September. The school has made significant progress in our examination performance in the last five years and this building will help us continue that success with a state-of-the-art building, new ICT facilities and wonderful resources.”
The Lord Mayor, Cllr Christopher Davies, said: “I'm delighted to see the marvellous progress on this new school building and look forward to the day when it is officially opened.We need to invest in all our young people's education, not only so that they can achieve their full potential, but also for the future of our city and our great country.”
George Taylor, Skanska’s Construction Director in Bristol, said: “This event marks a significant stage in the construction of the new teaching block, which when complete will provide Ashton Park students with a learning environment second to none.”
Working with the City Council, Bristol LEP has developed Ashton Park School under the Building Schools for the Future programme.
In a £100 million wave of school development, it is also extensively rebuilding and extending three other secondary schools in the city, as well as building a new school for Knowle DGE, redeveloping two former independent schools that became academies last September and working with the City Council on plans to transform many primary schools.
Between 2007 and 2009, the LEP – which comprises the City Council, Partnerships for Schools and the project development and construction group Skanska – delivered four secondary schools under BSF. Bristol Brunel Academy opened in September 2007, Bristol Metropolitan Academy in April 2008, Brislington Enterprise College in September 2008 and the all-through Bridge Learning Campus in January 2009.
