Wish 'Yew' were here!

An innovative new education village which will see three schools housed on one site in North Manchester, is one step nearer to conclusion with the completion of the highest point of the building.

Higher Blackley Education Village, which includes Our Lady's RC High School, North Ridge High School and Meade Hill High School marked this milestone on Friday 6 June with a topping out ceremony including the inserting of a traditional Yew tree branch into the building for good luck.

The Village is part of the national 'Building Schools for the Future' (BSF) scheme which is the biggest ever school buildings investment programme, and aims to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England.

In Manchester, 34 schools will receive investment to improve their buildings.

The new £25m Higher Blackley site will be on the playing fields of the existing Our Lady's RC High school and both North Ridge and Meade Hill will relocate from Ancoats and Crumpsall.

The 11,500 square metres campus will be a first in that it will house 885 pupils - 750 mainstream children, 110 with special educational needs and 25 with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

The village will boast a number of state of the art features including a hydrotherapy pool, physiotherapy room and learning resource centre.

Although each school will have its own space within the site, the pupils from Our Lady's and North Ridge will share a dining and assembly hall, along with sports facilities.

Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member Children's Services, Manchester City Council says: "This is a truly forward thinking inclusive approach to education that can only benefit pupils, teachers and the wider community as a whole.

"Educating children of different abilities and physical and emotional needs together promotes tolerance, understanding and acceptance - all of which will help the young people develop into well rounded adults."

Teresa Dervin, headteacher at Our Lady's RC High School says: "We are all thrilled and excited about the opportunities that the new site will offer us and we anticipate going from strength to strength in our new home."

Bernice Kostick, headteacher at North Ridge High School says: "The new school site is a fantastic spacious design that offers each school not only their own state of the art facilities, but also superb shared resources. Our pupils, staff and parents are all looking forward to the move."

Eamon Gallagher, headteacher at Meade Hill High School says: "We are really excited about the move to the new site as it will be a wonderful opportunity for both pupils and teachers alike. The new facilities are second to none and will really enhance the educational experience that we are able to offer our pupils. "

Project Manager Graham Fenton from the contractors Laing O'Rourke says: "We're extremely proud to be delivering a fantastic new education village to Higher Blackley as part of the 'Building Schools for the Future' scheme. The whole team feels privileged to be constructing a school that will provide inspirational teaching space and ultimately improve the educational environment for our young people."

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the government agency responsible for delivering the BSF programme, says: "Each step that a local authority takes towards delivering new and improved school environments through BSF is a huge step towards greater opportunities and life chances for every child in England. I look forward to seeing this innovative education village in action and playing its part in the regeneration of North Manchester's communities."

It is anticipated that Our Lady's and North Ridge will move onto the new site early 2009 and Meade Hill in the summer of 2009.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Maggie Doyle, Press Office tel: 0161 234 4610.