Students at a North Tyneside school will be getting new facilities - and these pictures show what the new site will look like.
Construction work has started on new buildings at Whitley Bay High School. The project involves part-demolition of the existing main blocks, the sports hall and modular accommodation. Two blocks, built post-2000, will be kept and incorporated into the new development.
Many of the existing structures were built in the 1960s. They will make way for new buildings which will have a low carbon footprint and include features such as air source heat pumps and photovoltaic canopies.
The new site will have a range of departments zoned around a central landscaped area, including:
- Large hall for assemblies, performance and dining
- Sports hall and activity studios
- Sixth form social and study area with lecture theatre
- Specialist spaces for ICT, technology, science, food technology, graphics and textiles
- General teaching rooms for other subject areas including English and maths
- Designated internal and external areas for students with additional needs
- Provision for pastoral support
- A large football pitch replacing the current pitch which will accommodate the new building
Headteacher Steve Wilson said: "This is an exciting time for the school and the local community. The new build will provide state-of-the-art facilities for our students.
"We have worked hard with the architects and construction company to ensure the new school will allow us to maintain the happy, community atmosphere that exists at Whitley Bay High School while allowing our students to thrive academically, socially and in terms of all the extra opportunities available."
Kehri Ellis, chief executive of North Tyneside Learning Trust, added: "North Tyneside Learning Trust has been the foundation trust to Whitley Bay High School for over a decade and I am absolutely thrilled that a modern new school building will offer a high quality learning environment to match the excellent education offered at the school.
"It’s an incredibly exciting time for the trust and the school, the new school building will offer a fantastic working environment for students and staff, with state of the art facilities, fit for 21st century teaching and learning."
The project is being managed and funded by the Department for Education as part of the first wave of a national School Rebuilding Programme.
The work has been planned to ensure the school can remain fully operational throughout construction. The new building is expected to open in autumn 2023. After that, redundant structures will be demolished over a 12-month period, and external landscaping work, including a new sports pitch, will be completed by 2024.
Read Next:
