Pupils say they are excited to start learning at a new £30m school in Nottingham tomorrow after being taught in temporary accommodation.
Bluecoat Trent Academy, on the Edge of Forest Fields, off Mansfield Road, has been built where the Nottingham College Clarendon campus once stood.
The new building has capacity for 1,900 pupils, and 900 children and young people are expected to be welcomed in for the first time on Wednesday morning 4 September 4.
The school, operated by the Archway Learning Trust, opened in temporary accommodation in Aspley in September 2021.
The new building features nine science labs, music practice rooms, state-of-the-art sports facilities, a lecture theatre, and drama suites.
Trust chief executive Sian Hampton said it has “all the things any great school really should have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.”
“We are really, really proud this is going to keep great children in the city, learning in one of the best environments they possibly can, and therefore creating a whole talent pipeline into the future to make Nottingham city the best place they can live in and work in,” she said.
Pupils said the old school buildings had started to become overcrowded.
“It is definitely an upgrade from the older one,” Year 10 student Zoha Chaudry said.
“It was starting to get very crowded, so I am glad to get in this new building now after all this time.
“I chose photography as one of my options. I’m excited to see the art block.”
Fellow Year 10 pupil Elise Barnfield-Linton added: “This site is definitely an upgrade, and we will have a lot more space to do things, and the classes won’t be as cramped.
“At lunch and break you wont be avoiding a stampede.”
The new school has been in the planning for eight years.
Archway Learning Trust had initially hoped to open it in 2021, however it was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
Whilst the build programme was under way, the initial cohorts of students have been taught at the temporary site on the grounds of Bluecoat Aspley Academy, another Archway Learning Trust school.
Now all cohorts including 660 moving from Aspley, will be joined by a new Year 7 intake of 240 tomorrow (Sept 4).
The trust has a partnership with Nottingham Trent University, which inspired the name and colours, and is involved with mentoring and supporting students through an outreach programme.
Claire McManus, the school principal said: “We’ve been well-looked after by the Trust with the temporary accommodation but for children to have the labs, the sports facilities, the technology, the performance spaces, it is going to enable our curriculum to come alive more than it has done already.
“It is the logistics that will become a little bit easier for us. We’ve been sharing science labs and design and technology space and it just limits the amount they can do practically. Now we have no limitations. The staff can absolutely explore their subject areas with the pupils.”
Plans for the school were submitted by the Department for Education and approved by Nottingham City Council in November 2022.
Four councillors supported them, while three voted against the plans. Two abstained.
Cllr Ethan Radford (Lab), now the deputy leader of the council, said previously he feared the development could put “an enormous amount of strain on public transport” and local roads.
Addressing the concerns, chief executive Ms Hampton said work is taking place on nearby roads to improve them, but explained most pupils are expected to arrive by public transport or bike.
The school features 300 bike storage spaces for pupils and staff who choose to cycle in.
“We are anticipating – from having talked to our young people – that many of them will cycle in and reduce their carbon footprint and ours, and reduce congestion in the city,” she said.
