News: Contractor named for new Rotherham school

Work is now officially underway after a soil-cutting ceremony took place at Rotherham's newest school, Waverley Junior Academy.

Earlier this year, Rotherham Council's planning board approved plans for the school, which will serve the wider Waverley community and have a capacity of 420 pupils up to the age of 11.

It will be run by the Aston Community Education Trust (ACET), which already runs 11 other primary and secondary academies in South Yorkshire and North-East Derbyshire.

The trust and its construction contractors for the £7m project, Houlton, recently joined forces to break ground at the location of the new school, which is due to open its doors next year.

There is currently no school on the 250-home Waverley development, but local families will be able to apply for places for their children from August this year, ahead of the school opening in September 2020.

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Eunice Newton, CEO of the ACET, said: "It's wonderful to think that the ground where everyone was standing will be occupied by a brand-new school in just 14 months' time, and the soil-cutting ceremony certainly makes everything seem more real.

"There has been a tremendous amount of hard work that has gone into preparing the plans for the school and everybody will be able to see all that effort come to life over the next few months.

"We have also held an information event for prospective parents recently and there is a great deal of excitement. The whole community is behind this project and we’re looking forward to creating a school that Waverley can be proud of."

Cllr. Gordon Watson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Children and Young People's services at Rotherham Council, added: "The addition of this primary school to the Waverley development will not only meet the needs for the surrounding community, but will also be a great opportunity to create a school with the newest and best facilities, particularly in close proximity to the our world class manufacturing facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, which we hope to make the most of."

The school promises to be one of the most advanced educational facilities in Rotherham, with its own breakfast and after-school clubs, as well as a 10-place purpose-built autism resource unit which will cater for children from wider areas.

Hull-based Houlton have been busy in the borough. The marketing suite recently opened at The Bellows, a 58 dwelling housing project for Rotherham Council at Rawmarsh. It also carried out the work to create a £3.7m caravan site within the popular Rother Valley Country Park (RVCP) which opened earlier this year.

Geo. Houlton & Sons Ltd website

Images: Houlton / RMBC

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News: Waverley Junior Academy building contract to be put out to tender

The contract to build a junior school to serve Rotherham's newest community will now be put out to tender after the scheme was given the green light.

Rotherham Council's planning board recently approved plans for Waverley Junior Academy, meaning that the search for a construction partner can now begin.

The school, which will have a capacity of 420 pupils up to the age of 11, is being built to serve the wider Waverley community.

It will be run by the Aston Community Education Trust, which was appointed as its sponsor two years ago and already runs 11 other primary and secondary academies in South Yorkshire and North-East Derbyshire.

Following its appointment, representatives from the Trust have played an active role in helping to finalise the plans, which have been drawn up by Rotherham Council officers and Ellis Williams architects.

Families in Waverley currently have to send their children to schools outside the area, but the Trust says the new school will offer 21st Century teaching within walking or cycling distance of their homes.

Not only will its exterior blend into the buildings around it, the school has also been designed so that a number of its facilities, including the space set aside for its breakfast club and a purpose-built autism unit, can be opened up to community groups out of hours, without people needing to access the main building itself.

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Eunice Newton, CEO of ACET, said: "Obtaining planning permission is a significant step that brings this exciting project one step closer and means that the construction contract can now be put out to tender.

"What makes the school unique is that much of the design work has been focused on ensuring that it can be used by local groups as well as children and, as such, promises to be the pride of the whole community.

"The Waverley development is taking shape but there are currently no shared facilities, such as a community centre or local church, where people can come together in the evenings and on weekends.

"The school will make that possible, which is why we refer to it as the academy that never closes, and we're looking forward to seeing how the community engage with the school out of hours when it's open next year."

The Trust is also currently planning a series of events designed to keep prospective parents informed about the progress of the development.

Parents will be invited to apply for a place at the school in March next year, ahead of its official opening in September.

Aston Community Education Trust website

Images: Aston Community Education Trust

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