A hint of Eden for Newall Green students

Students at Newall Green High School will get a hint of Eden following the first handover in Manchester's massive school rebuilding programme.

The roof of the new covered courtyard at the school uses the same material as that used for the domes at the iconic Eden Project in Cornwall and also in the revamped Piccadilly Railway Station in Manchester.

The first section of the re-built part of the school, with 900 students, is to be officially handed over on 14 March, with work then proceeding on refurbishing the existing school facilities. The handover for that is planned for November this year.

The £18m project is part of Manchester's combined Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and Academies programme, with a £500m capital investment to rebuild or refurbish 32 schools. Seven of these will be specialist academies. The building programme began in 2006, with an expected completion date of September 2012.

Other unusual features at the new school are a learning resource centre on stilts with an open amphitheatre below it, and coloured cladding on the frontage of the school hall to show the different seasons, developed from ideas in art workshops for students working with an artist. The project architects are the internationally-renowned Aedas.

The developers Balfour Beatty have faced the challenge of re-building the school while it remains fully functional. Temporary classrooms and offices have been built within the school boundary to house staff and students as building work progresses through several phases.

The Executive Member for Children's Services, Councillor Sheila Newman, said: "This has been a challenge for everyone - the developers, contractors, students, teachers and support staff. But it will all be well worth waiting for, as the newly-built and refurbished school is a key part of the regeneration of Wythenshawe."

She added: "As well as providing state-of-the-art facilities for the school, the local community will also benefit because there will be additional facilities available to them, including the main hall, the dining hall, the learning resource centre and the covered courtyard space. Local people already enjoy the use of the school's sports pitches, sports hall, gym and dance and drama studios."

The school has recently received an outstanding Ofsted report.

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