New academy brings Shirebrook out of the 60s

Shirebrook Comprehensive School’s dull grey walls have played host to tens of thousands of young adult and even stayed open through the closure of the towns’ mines, which founded the settling. All that is about to change though with the arrival of a £27 million, purpose built academy which opens on the 18^th April 2013.

The Head of Department in English, Mrs Ward, speaks with passion about the new build, ’’The new academy is definitely a huge improvement on the current building, which still uses blackboards in some classrooms, as it boasts specialist technology areas, science labs, IT, drama and music rooms, a 3D cinema, a sports hall and a 3G all-weather pitch. This is the start of a brighter future for all that come here. These new facilities are better than anything we’ve ever had in the past and will not only bring our teaching up to date, but make learning more exciting, engaging and effective for the students”.

The academy has taken two years of building work and ten years of promises to finally be ready for students to walk through its doors but the new environment won’t come as a total shock as students have been involved with both its design and building work throughout this process.  Mrs Ward continued to explain, ‘it has been a pleasure to watch it come to life. The students helped to choose fittings, furniture and colours, some of our construction students even helped to lay some of the bricks.’

The facilities on offer have not been the only thing to advance with the work; the environment is going to see an improvement too. According to Mrs Ward, ‘being eco-friendly has been a big focus point; our school now has its own wind turbine which will generate power for the building whilst also being a demonstration tool in science and construction.’ Woodland Trust also donated sixty free tree’s to the school as it took part in the Jubilee Woods Challenge, where geography students planted 550sqm of the new sight with saplings. ‘Every part of this build has been thoughtful; each student who planted a tree tied a message or sketch to the supporting stake, their own legacy for when they leave’.

Mrs Ward also talked about the merger between Shirebrook Academy and Stubbin Wood School, a school for children with special needs, which will see them brought together in one school for the first time in the town’s history. ‘This is the first specialist school Derbyshire County Council has ever produced, everything is purpose built, there’s even going to be cookers with adjustable heights in the cooking classrooms, it’s the first of its kind that Derbyshire Council has ever produced and it’s been located with a mainstream school to help break down stigmas and boundaries’.

New ties with Sheffield Hallam and AllRoads have been created with the hopes of helping more students find their way into higher education and careers. ‘Shirebrook was always a small mining town, people never expected anything more than working down the pits or in factories. With the mines and most factories closed it’s more important than ever before to help our students aim higher, it’s a proud moment for us as teachers as our students progress to university or promising careers’.

With the students and teachers excited for the move, some of the town has been left sad at the thought of losing a building which has held many fond memories for generations, but the newly appointed head teacher, miss blaaah created the opportunity for a last visit and goodbye before it is knocked down. “We held a farewell tour for all past students. We held an assembly where we talked to them about the new building and then took them on tours around the classrooms where they spent their youths, they also got a last look at the library, dining hall and science labs, one of the visitors could even point out a burn mark they had created on one of the desks during an experiment, eight years ago.”

“Most of the people who came hadn’t stepped foot in the building since their final days of year eleven, it was a sad occasion for some, but I think most were excited for the current students who get to move into a new fabulous building which is truly befitting of our school”

With the last goodbyes said, what was once a quiet mining town is ready to become a town of the future.