CREATING entrepreneurs of the future.

That is the aim of the Inspire Enterprise Academy – the first studio school to open in Hampshire.

It is one of a new crop of schools to be championed by the Department for Education and one which hopes to nurture and produce business leaders of the future.

Yesterday the classrooms at their site in Chapel Road in Southampton were officially declared open by city MP John Denham who said he was “excited” by the potential of the new school.

The Inspire academyStudio School will ultimately give 300 students, aged 14-19, the chance to gain mainstream qualifications in a way that also gives them a taste of the world of business and industry.

Curr-ently the first 60 Year 10 students are paving the way by getting to grips with their new-style timetable, a smart but ultimately their own dress code, and their classrooms which have more the feel of meeting rooms.

The school is focussed on delivering the core subjects, they currently offer six GCSE subjects, but in a way that makes the syllabus relevant to the employment market.

By forming partnerships with business across the city much of the timetable is devoted to placements within the workplace and working on projects that are directly relevant to business needs.

The mornings are devoted to core subjects like maths, English and the sciences. Afternoons are made up of a variety of activities, workshops, work placements and skills-based sessions.

Pupils have also been spending time at the Woodmill Activity centre along with attending fitness classes whilst extra curricula classes including self-confidence workshops are also in the pipeline.

The final touches to the new building, paid for with £1m of funding from the DfE, was completed just ahead of yesterday’s official opening where a plaque was unveiled by Mr Denham along with Southampton Mayor Ivan White and chair of governors Malcolm Le Bas.

Principal Christian Down said: “Our students are out there with the workforce and seeing how their education can impact on their lives “I like the challenge and see the value of partnering more traditional subjects with the real-life hands on experience and project based learning which sits at the heart of what we do.”