Last updated at 10:21, Tuesday, 10 July 2012

WALNEY School has benefited from more than £6m funding for a long-awaited sports hall and classrooms. The Evening Mail got a sneak preview inside the new facilities, and took a first look at the new uniform. NATALIE CHAPPLES reports

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THE years of waiting are almost over.

Plans for a sports hall for Walney School stalled around six years ago due to the reorganisation of secondary education in Barrow.

But last summer, the diggers moved in to the Sandy Gap Lane school and work began on a £6m-plus project to create much-needed sporting facilities and 10 new classrooms for use from September.

Now the lines are ready to be marked out for sports such asbasketball, netball and badminton, and the adjoining classroom block is nearing completion.

There are spacious new classrooms to house humanities, modern foreign languages, music and art.

They all feature interactive white boards and natural ventilation systems. The building also has solar shading and a sedum grass roof.

Steve Rawlinson, the project manager for Eric Wright Construction, which led the building project, said the company intends to hand over the new facilities to the school on July 16.

He said Eric Wright will then start work on remodelling the school’s existing building.

The old humanities area will be developed into a pupil support department. A science, technology, engineering, and maths multifunction room is also being created in the old art rooms.

There is a linkway to the new classrooms from the present building.

The sports hall also has a public access point with a reception, as it is will be used by the community.

Headteacher, Alan Dickenson, said: “A sports hall has been a long time coming, but it has been worth the wait.

“We are eager to get in and share these facilities with our pupils and the community.

“You get a real sense of space, there has been no compromise in this building. Eric Wright Construction has done a fantastic job.

“We are tremendously indebted to Cumbria Children’s Services which secured the funds for our project in a very difficult financial climate.”

From September, a new uniform will be phased in over 12 months.

The change of design and colour scheme coincides with the school’s transformation and new logo.

The royal blue polo shirts and navy blue sweatshirts are being replaced with a new grey blazer, light green shirt, grey pullover, and grey trousers or skirt. The boys will also wear a grey patterned tie.

The pupils took part in a consultation to give their suggestions about what the new uniform should look like.

Vanessa Lloyd, the school’s business manager, said: “We have rebranded the school logo and the colours, and we have this fantastic expansion project, it seemed the ideal time to update the uniform for September.”

Matthew Speirs, 12, of Year Seven, said: “I think this new uniform is better than the older one, it looks much smarter.”

Chloe Williams, 13, of Year Eight, said: “I think this uniform is smarter. I like having a blazer.

“I think it’s good that students got to give their views on the uniform.”

The school has said Year Seven pupils and the new Year 10 group will be required to wear the uniform from September.

The other year groups will not be required to purchase the new uniform, unless the students have grown out of their existing uniform.

All pupils will wear the new uniform from September 2013.

The school will be having a collection in September of old uniforms which will be sent to Africa to support education projects.

First published at 16:18, Monday, 09 July 2012
Published by http://www.walneylocal.co.uk