Yorkshire Photography
News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire September 27, 2016 09:52:26 AM
Goldthorpe’s striking new primary school, delivered by Robertson Yorkshire and East Midlands and funded by Barnsley Council, opened its doors for the first time on Tuesday 6 September, one year since work began.
Located off Doncaster Road in Goldthorpe town centre, the new landmark building accommodates 310 pupils in a modern, bright and spacious design with strong flashes of colour on the exterior of the building. Inside is an oasis of calm, with a gentle neutral contemporary colour scheme, bright accents of colour and mood lighting that create a warm and nurturing environment. The modern learning environment has classrooms which can be opened up entirely to the outside for outdoor lessons and activities.
The unique design for the school was developed through a partnership approach between Barnsley Council, Robertson, NPS Barnsley and the school. Head teacher Sarah Fields and her staff have been actively involved throughout the design process and worked hard to ensure the homely feel of the old school was carried forward into the new building.
Councillor Roy Miller, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place said: “The new school is a valuable addition to Goldthorpe and a striking gateway building for the town. It is proof of the strong working relationship between the project team, school and local community. I’m sure it will prove to be a shining example of early year’s education, not just in Barnsley but for the rest of the UK.”
Throughout the construction site foreman Gordon Fawcet has been a regular visitor for the staff and students of the school. He has led on assemblies, teaching them about structures and organised a school trip to the steel fabricators, so the children could witness at first hand the steel structures for the school being made. The children have had regular visits to the site of the new school to view its progress. In the spring they planted saplings for Earth Day so they could start to take ownership of their new school before starting there in September.
During the twelve month construction period Robertson has exceeded all of their community engagement targets, achieving an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Considerate Constructors scheme. It is an Eco-friendly school, achieving BREAM Very Good, which takes account of how sustainable the building is. It has a bio mass boiler and solar panels for the heating and hot water, and a state of the art building management system controls the temperature and lighting. The results are a modern and stylish school that Goldthorpe residents can be extremely proud of.
Robertson ensured local labour and supplies were used as much as possible throughout the build and have had seven work placements from Barnsley Community Build. They also measured how much their staff spent in Goldthorpe’s local shops for lunch, averaging around £9,000 a month for the local economy. The sub-contractors on site also donated food for the schools breakfast club.
Paul Turner, Regional Managing Director for Yorkshire and East Midlands at Robertson, said: “We believe we have delivered an outstanding new school that the Goldthorpe community can embrace for years to come. We’ve had the pleasure of working closely with local leaders, school children and staff to set a new benchmark of how we engage with the communities close to our construction projects. We wish the whole school all the very best in their new home.”
An official opening ceremony took place on Tuesday 20 Sept and included a special assembly for the pupils with special guests Ian Macmillan, Poet Laureate for Barnsley, and cartoonist Tony Husband.
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