11/11/2011 - Pupils first day at fantastic new school

Pupils have got to experience their first day at their brand new, state-of-the-art school in Quarry Bank.

The new £6.4 million Old Park School opened its doors officially to form part of the Thorns Community Learning Village.

The multi-million-pound learning village has seen Thorns Community College and Thorns Primary School welcome Old Park to their site.

The development aims to open up opportunities for staff and pupils to work together and share professional expertise. It will also create activities for children and young people from all three schools to interact with each other.

Old Park School is an Ofsted-defined ‘outstanding’ school for children and young people aged from three to 19 with severe and profound learning difficulties. It provides a safe and caring environment where pupils make good progress, are happy and well behaved.

The new school building constructed by Midlands based Thomas Vale Construction boasts a hydrotherapy pool and an outdoor woodland walk, which is wheelchair accessible, and will give pupils the chance to experience learning in the outdoors.

Enhanced landscaping and improved access and car parking has also been created as part of the project.

Councillor Liz Walker, cabinet member for children’s services said:

“I am thrilled that the new Old Park School is opening after a lot of hard work by staff, pupils, the council and our partner Thomas Vale. It will give a wonderful opportunity for pupils to learn in a spectacular new building.

“The new learning village will also help our children and young people from all three schools get to know each other and give them a feeling of community as they enjoy their education.”

Richard Green, Divisional Director, Thomas Vale Construction added;

“It has been a pleasure to work with such a dedicated team at Old Park School. We hope the staff and pupils enjoy Thorns Community Learning Village for many years to come.”

The project has been designed by Dudley Council’s in-house architects and project managed by the directorate of children’s services in partnership with contractors Thomas Vale. The scheme was part-funded following a successful bid to the government in 2005.

As part of the development, a multi-use games area (muga) has also been created at Thorns Community College. The muga, which opened in March 2010, offers both pupils and the wider community access to all-weather turf football pitches.