Work has officially begun at the new £5m Bradley Stoke sixth form which is being built alongside the community school.
The turf-cutting ceremony at the college, which is due to open in a year’s time, took place on Thursday morning.
Permission to build the new block, which will also feature a new dance hall, was granted by South Gloucestershire Council in 2008.
The post-16 centre will also feature a dance studio which is part of the school’s status as a performing arts specialist centre.
Tags: · sixth form
Contractors are due on site “in the next few weeks” to begin work on Bradley Stoke’s new post-16 education centre.
Community school headteacher Dave Baker told parents that work would begin on the sixth form and the new dance studio soon.
He said: “There will be more pressure than ever on the school car parking facilities so please avoid coming into the school car park unless absolutely necessary.
“We will also have a full school for the first time in September with over 920 students and 130+ staff so it is going to be busier than ever but an exciting time for us!”
Permission to build the new block, which will also feature a new dance hall, was granted by South Gloucestershire Council in 2008.
The £5m centre is due to open in September 2010.
Tags: · Bradley Stoke Community School, sixth form
Work on a new Bradley Stoke sixth form could begin before the end of the school year following the announcement it has been granted funding.
The new facility, on the site of the community school, was granted the £5m funding by the Learning and Skills Council and is now due to open for September 2010.
Dave Baked, head teacher of Bradley Stoke Community School, said he was “delighted” with the news.
He added discussions over the courses that would be on offer will continue and parents and pupils would be kept informed.
Permission to build the new block, which will also feature a new dance hall, was granted by South Gloucestershire Council in 2008.
In a joint statement, Bradley Stoke Councillors John Ashe, Brian Hopkinson, Rob Jones and Sarah Pomfret said:
“We are delighted to hear that one of our main election promises has secured the necessary funding. We have been strongly committed to achieving this for our town and importantly achieving it in time for when the first students will need it.
Offer choice
“A sixth form for Bradley Stoke will significantly enhance the school and ensure it can offer a full 11-18 education for its students.
“Unless a sixth form is developed at the school it will be the only South Gloucestershire secondary school which does not offer the choice of staying on Post-16, which would be unfair to Bradley Stoke students.
“Having built up relationships with staff and friendship networks at the school Bradley Stoke students must have the opportunity to continue their Post-16 studies at their school if they wish.”
South Gloucestershire Council’s executive member for children and young people, Councillor Sheila Cook warned the authority was still waiting for definite news of the £5m funding.
“The council is still waiting for formal written confirmation from the Learning and Skills Council, but all the indications we have received points to an incredibly positive announcement from them.”
She praised fellow Conservative councillors in the town for their efforts in campaigning for the new post-16 centre.
“Over the last couple of years, they have been able to highlight tremendous local support for a sixth form amongst parents and students in the town, which is why South Gloucestershire Council has been 100% committed to supporting this vital new facility and active in promoting it.”
Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Williams added: “I’m sure local political parties will try and claim credit for this latest development, but the truth is this facility has always been planned and land was set aside for this purpose in the original brief.
“As Chair of the Governors when the school opened I know there was already a dialogue going on in anticipation of this development and I have been supportive of it from the beginning.
“I have followed the progress of the funding bid and have questioned the Director of Children & Young People on a number of occasions to make sure that we were on track.”
• In pictures: Closer look at the sixth form plans
• First news of the funding from Bradley Stoke Community School (pdf)
Tags: · Bradley Stoke Community School, sixth form
A planning application for a new sixth form at Bradley Stoke Community School has been lodged with South Gloucestershire Council.
The plans, if approved, will see a new dance studio built as part of a new two-storey building which will house the post-16 centre.
The entire structure would be alongside the existing secondary school – you can see mock-up images here.
Also included in the plans are extra car parking spaces and a new bike shelter.
Tags: · Bradley Stoke Community School, sixth form
The new draft plans for a sixth form and dance hall at Bradley Stoke Community School have been released.
We’ve got the high-resolution versions for you to browse through here at the Bradley Stoke Examiner.
You can check out both the mock-up images and the plans themselves here – then tell us what you think of them.
Head teacher Dave Baker says that South Gloucestershire Council needs to gain planning approval for the sixth form before the Learning Skills Council will approve or even fund the project.
The plans – once a final version is completed – will now need planning approval and then funding will need to be secured.
Download the plans – PDF files, requires Acrobat Reader.
Tags: · Bradley Stoke Community School, Education, Planning, sixth form, South Gloucestershire Council
Plans for a sixth form college in Bradley Stoke have taken a step forward with plans for the building that would house it being revealed.
Head teacher Dave Baker says that South Gloucestershire Council needs to gain planning approval for the sixth form before the Learning Skills Council will approve or even fund the project.
To that end, the school have been “in discussions about what kind of building might be needed”.
The first draft plans are now on display at the community school and Mr Baker is now looking for feedback on those plans.
If we can get hold of a picture of the plans from the school we’ll post them here.
Tags: · Bradley Stoke Community School, Education, sixth form
