Manchester celebrates its investment in schools

Manchester City Council is celebrating the ongoing success of its £500m investment in secondary schools across the city, with the publication of a document showcasing all its achievements.

Manchester City Council is celebrating the ongoing success of its £500m investment in secondary schools across the city, with the publication of a document showcasing all its achievements.

Manchester's 'School Report' details the unprecedented £500m capital investment to rebuild or refurbish all 33 of the city's high schools, seven of which will be specialist academies.

The Building Schools for the Future/Academies programme is the largest investment in secondary education both the city and the north of England have ever seen.

The report charts the progress to date of the school improvements, detailing the range of projects both completed, currently underway and those due to start in the near future.

It is interspersed with striking, high quality pictures highlighting the innovative and inspirational designs that include light, welcoming and open social and learning spaces, creative eating and outdoor areas and an overall school environment that will help young people to be confident, adaptable, independent and inspired to learn and achieve.

Building work started at Manchester's first BSF site in 2006 and this week sees confirmation of almost £100m for the final wave of building, refurbishment and ICT work at nine schools (see list below). These are due for completion by September 2012.

Councillor Sheila Newman, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Children's Services, says: "We are at the final stage of a vast rebuilding and remodelling programme that will transform the way we educate young people across the city. Manchester's building programme is underpinned by a step change in thinking to ensure real transformational learning. This will allow us to bring the benefits of the improvements in education to both students and the city as a whole as soon as possible."

Many of the new buildings have been designed with pupil involvement and are high quality, flexible, learning environments that use space efficiently, facilitate different learning styles and encourage community use.

The nine schools to benefit from the final £98.5m Wave 4 investment are:-

The Barlow High School
Loreto High School
St Peter's RC High School
Whalley Range High School
Trinity CE High School
Grange School
Lancasterian School
Chorlton High School (ICT only)
Parrs Wood High School (ICT only)

The report can be found online at www.manchester.gov.uk/bsf