School's £20m new look future could be at risk (From Daily Echo)
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Oasis Academy Lord's Hill unveils £20m plans
5:10pm Friday 16th July 2010 in Education
THIS is the first look at the stunning new buildings that could improve the learning of hundreds of Southampton school pupils.
The Daily Echo can today reveal the artist’s impressions for the planned £20m Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill – formed by the merger of Oaklands and Millbrook schools in September 2008.
But hopes of creating a state-of-the-art building at Five Acres next to The Cedar School have been thrown into turmoil by savage Government funding cuts, which also saw the £200m Building Schools for the Future programme in the city scrapped. That would have seen five secondary schools rebuilt completely or remodelled.
Developers and the City Council are keen to push forward with the new Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill building in the hope that the Conservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition will continue with the investment after a review of all the academies by the end of September. It is scheduled to open in 2012.
Meanwhile, councillors will on Tuesday consider a planning application for a new £15m building on the lower Oasis Academy Mayfield site - formerly Grove Park School – in Sholing.
A virtual tour of the proposed new Oasis Academy Mayfield
That is why it is vital that as many as people as possible support the Daily Echo’s Best Deal for our Schools campaign, launched at the start of this week to help in the fight to secure a fair share of school rebuilding cash for the Southampton region.
We will be putting pressure on every Government minister that comes to our region and seeking the opinion and advice of education experts, politicians and business leaders to see how they believe this real crisis can be turned around.
The campaign has already been backed by Southampton MPs John Denham and Alan Whitehead, all five candidates in the Labout Party leadership battle and the city council’s Cabinet member for children’s services and learning, Councillor Paul Holmes.
Cllr Holmes said: “The continuation of the academies programme is crucial to our educational vision for the city. We are committed to moving these schools to single sites with new facilities and are pressing this point to Government.”
The plans for Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill will go on show at one of its current sites in Green Lane, Millbrook, from 3-8pm, on Tuesday.
The consultation and information exhibition is being run by developers Carillion, who have designed the new school on behalf |of Southampton City Council and the academy sponsors, Oasis Community Learning.
Residents will be able to view artist’s impressions, including a virtual fly-through tour of the plans, as well as speak to architects and share their views on the plans.
Their comments will then be submitted with Carillion’s planning application, which is expected to be submitted to the council next month.
THE Daily Echo’s Best Deal for Our Schools campaign aims to secure the best deal possible for our schools and their pupils in the wake of the Government throwing doubt on building plans for several schools in the Southampton area.
Comments(10)
SotonNorth
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9:32pm Fri 16 Jul 10
Stillness
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10:26pm Fri 16 Jul 10
SotonNorth wrote:Judging by the replies I got when I said this last week you had better brace yourself.
As nice as new buildings are, new buildings don't provide a better education for children.
Poppy22
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10:44pm Fri 16 Jul 10
Spot O'Bother
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6:15am Sat 17 Jul 10
Condor Man
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8:39am Sat 17 Jul 10
Paramjit Bahia
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12:50pm Sat 17 Jul 10
Condor Man wrote:Condor Man, I hate agreeing with a Tory but you have a valid point. Good teachers are more important than the buildings. One only has to look at some of the top public schools like Eton and Harrow etc. They have top class and WELL PAID teachers.
funny how the two biggest opponants of the Oasis Academies are now their biggest fans? It's a complete waste of money to knock down one school which is less than 30 years old to build another at massive expense to the taxpayer. We know that new buildings don't improve standards, face facts and move on.
But then have a look in the mirror and ask if Tories support the idea of ridiculous academies or not? Was it not a Troy idea adopted by your thatcherite colleagues in NuLabour?
Oh by the way, how is your son's health now? Hope he has recovered.
Paramjit Bahia
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12:58pm Sat 17 Jul 10
Poppy22 wrote:Because some people will be making massive profits out of these contracts.
How can a school cost £20million??? Frightening figure!
Money for the luxury home, yachts and Ferraries of these 'poor souls' with right connections has got to come from somewhere.
Bobby-was-the-captain-when-we-beat-West-Germany
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4:23pm Sat 17 Jul 10
Condor Man
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5:06pm Sat 17 Jul 10
Paramjit Bahia wrote:thanks for the message, sadly he's got a long time on the treatment table but as for schools you're right. Schools have to be reformed as if you know your Hampshire school history a fatal error was made in the 1970's when all the grammar schools became colleges or went private. That meant that the remaining secondary moderns went comprehensive but they still had the same staff who were not used to teaching 'top' pupils. As a result, in Southampton particular, schools have struggled to reach decent attainment levels because there was never a history of strong academic achievement.
Condor Man wrote: funny how the two biggest opponants of the Oasis Academies are now their biggest fans? It's a complete waste of money to knock down one school which is less than 30 years old to build another at massive expense to the taxpayer. We know that new buildings don't improve standards, face facts and move on.Condor Man, I hate agreeing with a Tory but you have a valid point. Good teachers are more important than the buildings. One only has to look at some of the top public schools like Eton and Harrow etc. They have top class and WELL PAID teachers. But then have a look in the mirror and ask if Tories support the idea of ridiculous academies or not? Was it not a Troy idea adopted by your thatcherite colleagues in NuLabour? Oh by the way, how is your son's health now? Hope he has recovered.
The only way forward for state education is to get back to selection at 11 and then 14. Pupils who want to follow an academic path (as I did) won't be forced to do woodwork and those who prefer vocational subjects can specialise in those whilst still having access to the 3R's.
chrissie 2968 says...
6:21pm Fri 16 Jul 10