Tours from Year 5 pupils in high visibility vests and a performance from Firbeck’s Signing Choir heralded the opening of a new improved Academy.
As a £2 million, year-long, renovation project draws to a close at the school a special event was held today (Tuesday 27 September 2016) to say thank you to all those involved.
Jason Osprey, Headteacher of Firbeck Academy, said: “There is an incredible sense of excitement as we celebrate and settle into life in our new improved school.
“These new classrooms will provide the setting our pupils need and deserve as they start their educational journey with us.
“Firbeck has and is undergoing a period of change and improvement at the moment and this is perfectly symbolised by the regeneration work of the new building.”
The Academy was successful in winning a significant funding award from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) Condition Improvement Fund to support improvements to the school.
This successful bid of £1.1 million together with an award for £450k in 2014 and significant support from the Academy sponsors, Sir David Samworth CBE and The University of Nottingham, brings the total recent investment to nearly £2 million.
Work includes new insulated roofs and walls for many of the school buildings — providing warmer classrooms, better ventilation and a better learning environment for Firbeck’s 250 pupils.
Repairs have also been made to the nursery block roof and new boundary fencing, to allow greater use of the school grounds.
Brian Stein, Chair of Nottingham University Samworth Academy Trust, the multi academy trust to which Firbeck belongs, said: “When I first visited the school with a view to it joining the trust I felt a little horrified by what I saw. It was raining and there were buckets placed strategically around the building to catch the leaks.
“It was clear that it would take some financial support to bring it up to scratch but I was pleased that the sponsors were preparing for the long haul and that we could work together to make these changes.
“The school today is a school for the 21st century. It’s one that sponsors, children, teachers and the local community can be proud of and no longer have to make excuses for.
“I’m grateful to all those who have been involved in the project, including Steve Crawford, the chair of the local governing body, for his dedication.
Firbeck Academy is a sponsored Primary Academy with Focused Provision for Deaf Children.
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