New-look academy opens its doors
Published at 11:09, Thursday, 03 May 2012
PARENTS at a Copeland school can now view online what their children buy at mealtimes.
A hi-tech cashless catering system has been brought in to the new building at West Lakes Academy, Egremont, which allows students to pay for food and snacks electronically rather than with cash.
Students were given a tour of all the new facilities on Monday when it opened its doors for the first time. The new build has cost £26.2 million to construct and furnish.
Principal Vanessa Ray said: “The students have been excellent, they were very orderly and very patient.”
Work was completed by staff over the last two weeks, while students have been taking their Easter holidays, to ensure the new build was up-and-running in time.
Mrs Ray said: “The staff came in during the holidays, they had two training days last week and went through the fire drills. There was a tremendous amount of goodwill. We are so pleased that the building is ready. There was some doubt 18 months ago if we would be finished on time. The work was actually finished one week early.
“One of our aims was to have as smooth a transition as possible. Students will be taking their GCSEs and A-levels soon, so it was crucial that we hit the ground running. We did a huge amount of planning beforehand, with the help and support of Kier Construction.”
Mrs Ray said demolition work is likely to take place over the academy’s summer holidays to prevent any disruptions for students during the upcoming exam periods.
Work to build tennis courts and multi-use games areas for students will also be taking place.
The overall project has been funded by a Government capital grant of £26.2 million which covered the costs of design and construction, furniture, ICT installations and equipment. Cumbria County Council has contributed funding to the project and is responsible for the procurement and provision of the new academy and also provided £500,000 and £130,000 for the new youth and library facilities.
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk
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