NEW SCHOOL BUILDING FOR NORTH SHEFFIELD

Oct 22 2008

Students in Parson Cross and Grenoside came back to a rebuilt school this September, as Yewlands School opened its doors following a major refurbishment – the first school in the city to complete Phase 1 of their rebuild by Taylor Woodrow (part of VINCI PLC) through Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

Phase 1 of their new school building is now complete, and young people are using the new Maths, English, Humanities and Languages learning areas, as well as specialist rooms for Design Technology, Art and ICT.

And a brand new science centre in the former Elm building, bringing all the school’s science facilities into one purpose built building, is giving the students a new range of opportunities.

‘Our students and staff are delighted with their new 21st century learning environment,” says Angela Armytage, Headteacher at Yewlands School & Technology College.

“It allows us to follow new personalised curriculum pathways and to present the curriculum in a different way. Many of the areas have flexible walls that enable us to reconfigure learning spaces. The new ICT opens up amazing opportunities for learning to take place any time and anywhere!”

“Now that Phase 1 of the school is complete, we are working with Taylor Woodrow to demolish the old building, where we will build Phase 2 of the project,” says Cllr Andrew Sangar, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services & Lifelong Learning.

“This will include a new hall, dining and kitchen areas and music facilities, which I hope will make a real difference to the learning experiences of our young people. I believe every young person should have access to a great local school, and this building work is giving Yewlands a real boost.

“It’s a big step forward in our work to rebuild and refurbish all our secondary schools, and marks the first stage in our partnership between schools, Sheffield City Council and the Sheffield Local Education Partnership. ”

“We are delighted to hand over the first phase of Yewlands School, the first of our BSF commitments in Sheffield,” says Colin Beresford, Taylor Woodrow’s LEP General Manager. “This is a fantastic achievement and the enthusiastic reaction from the students and the local community has made the project a true success."

To find out more about work to rebuild and refurbish secondary schools in Sheffield, go to www.sheffield.gov.uk/bsf

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew every one of England's 3,500 state secondary schools during the 15-year lifetime of the £45 billion programme.

Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery agency for Building Schools for the Future. It was established in April 2004 as a Non-Departmental Public Body, and is operated and funded under a joint venture between DfES and Partnerships UK.

Sheffield has 34 secondary schools, of which two are Academies and 7 are SEN schools with secondary aged pupils. Sheffield City Council was approved by the Government for BSF Pathfinder status in February 2004, along with three other local authorities. Twelve Sheffield schools have been rebuilt under Private Finance Initiative (PFI) since 1997.

Paradigm, a consortium led by Taylor Woodrow Construction with the HSBC Bank, is working with Taylor Woodrow Facilities Management, Civica plc, HLM and BDP Architects to deliver the BSF Sheffield programme.

Employing over 1,700 people in the UK, Taylor Woodrow had a turnover of over £600 million in 2007. An award-winning business with a diverse portfolio in building, facilities management, consultancy, transport and energy, Taylor Woodrow is committed to providing bespoke and innovative solutions to its customers. Taylor Woodrow forms part of VINCI PLC. For further information please visit www.taylorwoodrow.com

VINCI PLC has 2,900 employees and had a turnover of £774 million in 2007. VINCI PLC forms part of VINCI, the world’s leading concessions and construction group. VINCI has a turnover of €30.4 billion and employs 158, 00 people in 90 countries around the world.