30/09/2011 - City school's £7.2m makeover is a hit with pupils

STATE-OF-THE-ART facilities have been unveiled at a school undergoing an £7.2 million refurbishment.

Haywood EngineeringCollege, in Burslem, Stoke-on Trent is one of the first schools in Stoke-on-Trent to benefit from the city's £250 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project.

Contractors, Thomas Vale Wates moved on to the site in April and have already created a set of high-tech science labs, a new design studio and technology areas.

Students began lessons in their new classrooms when they returned to school earlier this month. The scheme aims to create a school which offers spacious, open-plan learning areas where several groups of students can be taught at once.

Staff are already seeing positive results from students using classrooms completed in the first phase.

Headteacher David Dickinson said: "It is absolutely wonderful to have new facilities in science, technology, music and drama because it will really help us to continue to transform learning at the school.We have very good teaching, but the new areas make the school look much more like a college or university, enabling our students to work more independently. Our old classrooms were box-like but we now have specialised labs. We have already noticed a difference in the way students are really enjoying their learning.”

Two thirds of the school will have been remodelled or extended by the time the project is finished.

Work still to be done includes transforming the central part of the school into open-plan learning areas for subjects such as English, foreign languages, history and geography.

Foundations have also just been laid for a learning tower, a classroom 30ft off the ground, which has been designed by students.

The bulk of the work will be completed by March, allowing Thomas Vale to move on to creating a new four-court sports hall which will be complete by June 2012.

The school was originally earmarked for closure under the BSF plans, but it was kept open and improvements brought in after a campaign by parents.

Councillor Debra Gratton, Stoke-on-Trent City Council's portfolio holder for children and young people's services, was among those given a tour.

She said: "After the campaign to save the school, is fantastic to see building work going on on-site. "The school is almost unrecognisable now and the finished areas are so inspirational for teaching and learning. I hope it will inspire the children to higher levels. Our kids are the future and this shows the continued investment in our children."