State-of-the-art
school 'topped out'
A new £28.4m school building in
Canning Town has been 'topped out' to mark its structural
completion.
In a ceremony attended by Councillor Quinin Peppiatt,
executive member for children and young people at Newham Council,
the final piece of concrete was poured into the ground of Rokeby
School, which is due to open in September 2010.
The school is being moved from its current site at Pitchford
Street to brand new building off Barking Road which will offer
pupils state-of-the-art facilities.
The building has been constructed as part of the £250m
Building Schools for the Future programme with additional
funding from the London Thames Gateway Development
Corporation.
The 900-place new school will have a six court sports hall, a
fitness suite and outdoor fitness trail and a floodlit all-weather
pitch. It will also feature a high-tech information technology
system to accommodate an increased number of computers and laptops
and a wireless network.
The classrooms have been designed so physical space can be expanded
or reduced according to the size of a class.
Quintin Peppiatt, executive member for children and young people
said: "Standards at Rokeby School are improving and the school is
rapidly building a reputation that it can be proud of. This brand
new building will offer pupils state-of-the-art facilities in
keeping with this exciting transformation.
"We want all of our children and young people in the borough to
achieve their full potential and this new school will be fit for a
21st century curriculum."
Once all pupils have moved onto the new site, the existing Rokeby
School will be demolished. The site will be cleared and a new
building for Stratford School will be built in its place.
Peter Andrews Chief Executive of the London Thames Gateway
Development Corporation said: "Our approach and investment in
Rokeby is a prime example of how our support can help transform a
school both physically and academically.
"We are thrilled to have enabled this brand new enlarged campus to
be built and also ensured that the local community benefited as
much as possible from these facilities opening in their
area."
Mark Richardson, business leader for Laing O'Rourke added: "Laing
O'Rourke, as construction partners within the Newham BSF programme,
are proud to mark this significant milestone in the delivery of the
new Rokeby School. We are now looking forward to completing the
school in time for the 2010-11 term."