Back to BSF school for thousands this autumn
01 September 2008
Thousands of students and teachers across England will going back to new and improved schools this month, as 22 schools open for the first time as part of the national Building Schools for the Future programme.
BSF schools are opening their doors in Bradford, Bristol, Lancashire, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Solihull and Waltham Forest - and the state-of-the-art facilities on offer promise to transform the way students learn, teachers teach, and the role schools play in the local community.
Among the innovative and inspirational features include a 'school within a school' at Brislington Enterprise College in Bristol where students will be placed in one of five 'learning communities' where they will spend more than half of their time with just 16 members of staff; a campus model at Burnley in Lancashire - with nursery, primary, SEN and sixth form provision on site - and which also includes community facilities in the shape of a new library; and a multi-faith centre, which will be used by the local residents as well as students and teachers at Allerton High School in Leeds.
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the government agency responsible for delivering the BSF programme, said: "For communities across England, going back to school will take on an extra significance this autumn as new and revitalised learning environments open their doors for the first time.
"Each of these schools exemplifies what we are trying to achieve through the BSF programme, namely that by working closely with local authorities and the private sector market we can ensure that every child in England has the same opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.
"Building Schools for the Future will help us to build better and brighter futures for all our young people, our teachers and our communities. There are already many examples coming through of the difference BSF schools are making: in attendance, attitudes and behavior as well as significant improvements in examination results. Crucially BSF schools are helping to instill a sense of pride and to provide a safe and inspirational environment for all learners.
"I congratulate all those who have been involved in turning their vision for 21st century learning into BSF schools which will stand at the centre of their communities for generations to come. It is something we can all be truly proud of."
For more information about school openings or BSF contact Amy Leonard, Communications Director on 07960 116966 or Nicky Old, Senior Communications Manager, on 0207 273 0031.
- By the end of the summer term 2008 there were 13 BSF schools open nationwide: Bristol Metropolitan College, Bristol (April 08); Ifield School, Kent (March 08); Michael Tippett School, Lambeth (Feb 08); Sandon High School, Stoke (Feb 08); Birches Head, Stoke (Oct 07); Elmgreen School, Lambeth (Sept 07); Bristol Brunel Academy (Sept 07); Sixth Form, Haringey (Sept 07); Oxclose Community School, Sunderland (June 07); Chaucer Business and Enterprise College, Sheffield (Oct 06); Bamburgh School, STaG (Oct 06); All Saints College, Newcastle (Sept 06); and Forest Oak and Merstone Schools (May 06).
- The 22 BSF schools – including two primaries which have been delivered through a Local Education Partnership – which are opening in September are:
Name of School Local Authority New Build/Refurb 1 Titus Salt School Bradford New build 2 Tong School Bradford New build 3 Buttershaw School Bradford New build 4 Brislington Enterprise College Bristol New build 5 Burnley Campus Lancashire New build 6 Pendle Vale College Lancashire New build 7 Shuttleworth College Lancashire New build 8 Allerton High School Leeds New build 9 Pudsey Grangefield Leeds New build 10 Rodillian Leeds New build 11 Temple Moor [phase 1 of refurb] Leeds Refurb 12 Newall Green High School Manchester Refurb and new build 13 Cedar Mount High School (Gorton Education Village) Manchester New build 14 Melland High School (Gorton Education Village) Manchester New build 15 St Paul's Manchester Refurb and new build 16 Benfield [phase 1 of refurb] Newcastle Refurbishment 17 Walbottle Campus Technology College Newcastle New build 18 Walkergate (primary school delivered through BSF LEP) Newcastle New build 19 Stocksfield (primary school delivered through BSF LEP) Newcastle New build 20 Lanchester Solihull New build 21 Frederick Bremer Waltham Forest New build 22 Kelmscott Waltham Forest Refurb - A total of 35 BSF schools are expected to open in the financial year 2008/09, increasing to around 115 in 2009/10, and over 150 in 2010/11.
- Students at the four mainstream BSF schools which have been operational for at least a year have been celebrating exam success this summer.
- At Oxclose Community School in Sunderland, 62% of students were awarded five or more GCSE grades A* to C, including English and Maths, compared with 41% in 2007.
- Bristol Brunel Academy, the first new build BSF school which has been open since September 2007, saw the percentage of top grades rise from 19% to 34%.
- Chaucer Business and Enterprise College in Sheffield had its best-ever GCSE results, with 22% of students awarded five or more top grades, including English and Maths, up from 18% the previous year.
- While at All Saints College in Newcastle, which saw a record number of student obtaining university places after this year's A level results, the percentage of students with top grade GCSEs remained the same as 2007, with 17% awarded five or more A* to C passes, including English and Maths. - Research conducted by the National Foundation for Education Research, The effects of the school environment on young people's attitudes towards education and learning, found that students felt safer and enjoyed to school more in their new BSF school. The proportions of students:
- who said that they felt safe at school most or all of the time increased from 57% to 87%
- who said that they felt proud of their school increased from 43% to 77%
- who said that they enjoyed going to school increased from 50% to 61%
- who perceived that vandalism was at least 'a bit of a problem' in their school decreased from 84% of respondents to 33%
- who perceived that bullying was a big problem decreased from 39% of students in the 'before' survey, to 16% in the 'after' survey
- who expected to stay on in the sixth form or to go to college increased from 64% to 77%. - Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. BSF will provide world-class teaching and learning environments for all pupils, teachers and communities in England.
- Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery agency for Building Schools for the Future. PfS was established in April 2004 as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and is operated and funded under a joint venture between DCSF (formerly DfES) and Partnerships UK.
