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Gates to £43m school are open

Nicole Kenny
20/ 9/2007

THE NEW £43m Wright Robinson Specialist College in Gorton has opened its doors and has been labelled the most expensive school ever built in England.

The school specialises in sport and arts for pupils aged 11 to 16 and in 2005 MCC announced £25m funding through a PFI initiative to build one of the best resourced schools in the UK.

The first phase of construction has been completed and pupils will move into this building while the old school is demolished to make way for the new state-of-the-art building.

The multi-million pound new school for Wright Robinson College in Gorton was approved in 2000. Seven years on and the school is ready.

This huge project has been seven years in the making and the results are outstanding.

The school is set to redefine the opportunities for a healthy and happy education for the children and community of East Manchester.
It boasts a formidable size and is a flagship college for the Building School's for the Future programme.

After 40 years in the old building, the staff and pupils have embraced the move.

Headteacher, Neville Beischer, said: "The new school has been open for nearly a week now, and it has made the pupils more dedicated to their work I have noticed.

"They are also extremely respectful to the building and they have been helpful with the move, we're all incredibly excited.

"It has been a fantastic experience and it is a mutual experience between both pupils and staff, we have all been helping each other.

"I have been told that the new school is in fact the most expensive school to be built ever in England at this very moment in time, which will change of course."

This new school has the finest ICT, sport and educational facilities in the country. With a multi million pound investment in ICT, pupils and teachers will be able to access the very latest technology to enhance teaching and learning experiences at the school.

Sport has always been a major strength at Wright Robinson College and this is reflected in the facilities within the new school.

It includes two all-weather flood lit pitches, one fully functional fitness suite, eight tennis courts, eight netball courts, a double dance studio, a 25m swimming pool and three sports halls.

These facilities provide access for pupils to the finest physical education programme in the country.

This new school provides a truly stimulating environment in which children can learn.

The school is separated into zones, including the green zone, lilac zone, red zone and blue zone. Each zone is home to various faculties and the colours will provide a calming and inspiring back-drop for pupils.

Huge amounts of light is captured through the infinity windows which surround the building.

The corridors are now spacious 'avenues' for pupils to get from one place to another.
Each year group have their own separate landscaped quad area with a detached multi-use games area.

With a fantastic healthy lunch menu, pupils will now have the option to dine indoors or al fresco in the sunshine under a protective canopy.

The new Wright Robinson College can also offer services and activities to pupils, their families and local communities.

Access to learning, sport and ICT facilities can make a real contribution to neighbourhood renewal and educational standards within the local area. This will provide many exciting opportunities and will be very welcome to the local community.

This year's GCSE results at the College hit an all time high with 71 per cent of pupils achieving at least 5 A* - C grades. With these outstanding results and the opening of this fantastic new school, Wright Robinson College has a very bright future ahead of it.