Bristol Metropolitan College
delivered on time
and to budget

April 3 2008

Head and students jump
for joy at new school

Students and their headteacher jumped for joy on the 3rd of April when their brand new secondary school was handed over by the team that built it, on time and on budget.

Image: Opening of the school

The key to Bristol Metropolitan College was presented to head Theresa Thorne and Bristol City Council representatives by Bristol Local Education Partnership (LEP).

With space for 1,080 students, the new school replaces Whitefield Fishponds Community School which was built more than 30 years ago.

‘This is the best present I have ever had!’ exclaimed Mrs Thorne as she received the symbolic key from John Burgess, general manager of the LEP. ‘I want to say a big thank-you to everybody who has worked so hard to complete this amazing building.’

Councillor Derek Pickup, Bristol City Council's Executive Member for Children and Young People's Services, said: ‘In this new school we have something that’s going to be a jewel in the crown of the city.

‘This is a building that will deliver a 21st century education for our children,’ he added. ‘Having a fantastic new school is a very important piece of the jigsaw that will enable children to achieve their potential.’

Students and staff will move into Bristol Metropolitan College after the spring holiday. It has a series of learning clusters linked by an internal street that provides the main focus and hub within the school.

It is the second new secondary school to be completed by the LEP, which was formed by the City Council, Partnerships for Schools and Skanska, who are responsible for its design, construction and operation.

The first school, Bristol Brunel Academy, was also on time and on budget when it opened at Speedwell last September. Two more are due to open within a year – Brislington Enterprise College and the Bridge Learning Campus at Hartcliffe.

The programme is intended as far more than a simple building project. Using ICT to support new approaches to teaching and learning, the approach enables students to learn outside the normal school routine and offers access to a new and exciting range of information and resources.

 

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