£29 MILLION NEW SCHOOL PREPARES TO OPEN
The Merchant Venturers have handed over the keys to the Merchants’ Academy Principal, Stephen Kings at a ceremony held today in Withywood.
In attendance were senior representatives from the design, construction and project management companies, who completed the £29 million school.
Co-sponsored by the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol, the Merchants’ Academy is the first school of its kind in South Bristol to be run by an independent trust.
The Academy is a state-of-the-art facility of seven separate pavilions built around an attractive courtyard. At capacity, it will have 1,150 students.
The Academy has a campus feel with plenty of internal and external open space, providing a safe and enjoyable place for students to remain throughout the school day.
Denis Burn, Chairman of the Merchants’ Academy, said: “The Merchants’ Academy is inspired by a vision to make a real difference to the lives of local young people.
“We are delighted with the quality of the design and build of the new school. An enormous amount of hard work has resulted in an environment for a 21st-century education, which this part of Bristol particularly needs.”
The Merchants’ Academy will specialise in enterprise and skills, drawing on its links with the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol and, through them, with local employers.
The buildings have been specifically designed for an active but personal approach to education with a number of break-out areas. Particular attention has been paid to integrating new students, with a dedicated Year 7 building, which will ease the step up from primary school.
Technology is also a fundamental part of the learning environment at the Merchants’ Academy. There is a learning resource centre full of computers, which is the size of seven classrooms.
There are also projectors in every classroom and teachers will all have laptops, so they are able to conduct their lessons in a very interactive way.
Nick Hood, Master of the Merchant Venturers, said: “The opening of the Merchants’ Academy coincides with the launch of the UK’s first all girls’ Academy at Colston’s Girls’ School. These changes will help transform the quality of secondary education in Bristol and reflect the energy and commitment the Society of Merchant Venturers has to education.
“We are immensely proud of this wonderful new school which has been delivered on time and on budget.”
But the work has not stopped there. All-weather sports facilities will replace the former Withywood Community School, once the students have started at the new Academy, and an Army Cadet Force unit will also be based on the site.
The project to build the new school was completed by main contractor, Cowlin Construction and project managed by Capita Symonds.
ENDS
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