THE NEW Kenilworth School and Sixth Form has welcomed its first students this week.
The state-of-the art school in Glasshouse Lane has been ten years in the making and is the largest new school build in England.
Costing £45.6million, it had no direct funding from the Department for Education or the local education authority. Instead it was funded from developer contributions, £9million from the housing infrastructure fund, support from Warwick District Council and a fundraising campaign.
The new school boasts enhanced IT and sports facilities for its 2,200 students, which can also be used by the community.
The project has taken ten years from its initial concept to completion.
New headteacher Darren Nicholas said: “This is an exciting time for the school and I’m looking forward to working with families and the wider community to ensure that the school continues to thrive.”
Kenilworth School and Sixth Form was previously based on two sites in the town, providing education to 1,700 students in ageing 1960s era buildings.
Funding cuts meant the school struggled to fund two separate sites.
Back in 2008, forward-thinking governors converted the school to a Trust School, giving them a certain level of autonomy from the local education authority and enabling it to look at building a new school without relying on funding from the DfE.
CEO Hayden Abbott said: “This is a very significant occasion marking the achievements of everybody within the school and the community who have made a strong contribution to achieve this fabulous new school for our young people. It has been a noteworthy collaborative effort from the whole community and this is a landmark opportunity to offer a promising future for young people now, and in the years to come.
“At a time when there is national concern regarding the condition of school building structures we are fortunate in that the project has been forward thinking and those involved are experts in their field whether that is education, architectural design, construction, quantity surveying and project management.”
Shirley Whiting, Chair of the Kenilworth Multi Academy Trust, added: ‘We are immensely proud to have delivered such an exciting project for Kenilworth. The new school is a testament to the hard work and determination of all those involved over the last ten years and secures a fantastic future-proof facility for the students of Kenilworth and the community.”
