September finish for town’s new 'super school' (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

September finish for town’s new 'super school'

3:16pm Monday 30th April 2007

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THE construction of a "super school" is ahead of schedule and it is due to open by September 2008, it has been revealed.

Gawthorpe High School has now been demolished, and the foundations for the new 1,050 place Shuttleworth College, Burnley Road, Padiham, are being put in place by Bovis Construction.

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Bosses at Lancashire County Council (LCC) in charge of the £250million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme hope that the progress made will show the community that the promised transformation of secondary education in Burnley was well under way.

Andrew Mackenzie, headteacher of Shuttleworth College, said that seeing the work on the site was very exciting for staff and pupils to see.

Mr Mackenzie, who was also head at Gawthorpe High from 2004, said: "Because the site is fenced off, people cannot see the progress being made, but watching it being built reminds you of just how fantastic the school is going to be, with facilities we've only dreamed of before."

Pupil Charlotte Seddon, 13, spent her first secondary school year at Gawthorpe High before it became Shuttleworth College in September last year.

She and the rest of the 800 or so Gawthorpe students have been having classes at the former Habergham High sixth form centre, Kiddrow Lane.

Charlotte said of the move: "It was messy at the time because so much was going on, but it was fine after a couple of weeks, and we're all settled in now.

"We're all really looking forward to the new school opening, because the facilities will be much better than we had."

Fellow pupil 13-year-old Michael Nuttall agreed, adding: "It's going to be a really good school, so it's worth the wait."

Mr Mackenzie said Charlotte and Michael's views echoed those of all pupils and staff.

"Shuttleworth College's identity has already been established for us," he said.

"It exists already despite it not being built yet, thanks to the way it has been embraced.

"We brought out the new uniform at the start of the year. There was no obligation to get it straight away but very soon hundreds of pupils were wearing them.

"Parents have also been very supportive.

"Also, the final result will be an absolutely outstanding modern resource in Burnley. The state-of-the-art facilities and technology will allow students to get a first class education."

John Ferris, LCC's building development officer for BSF, said: "We still have quite a bit of publicising to do about the progress we are making, and the huge benefits the schools will bring to the area, and not just for students.

"The schools will boast state-of-the-art facilities such as sports pitches and lecture halls, and we will be encouraging as much community use of these as possible.

"They will also all have "green" energy resources, such as wind turbines, and rainwater recycling."

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