TWO Salford secondary schools are to to be rebuilt thanks to £50m of government cash.
New buildings will go up in existing playing fields at Harrop Fold High in Little Hulton and Buile Hill High in Pendleton. They should be ready by September 2008.
For Harrop, it is a huge boost as it starts to show signs of improvement following four years of turmoil. Its problems started when it was created from a merger of two schools in 2001.
It is now expected to come out of special measures within the next year after "super head" Antony Edkins was head-hunted to take over.
Before he arrived the school had hit rock bottom and 29 out of 48 lessons checked by Ofsted inspectors were deemed to be unsatisfactory. In April 2004, one report said weak leadership and management had failed to improve behaviour and the quality of teaching. Both had deteriorated to alarmingly poor levels.
Mr Edkins, who has changed the ethos of the school and instilled discipline, said: "The staff and governors are delighted that the new school will be on a single site at Hilton Lane.
"Operating on two sites is expensive, and it doesn't engender the sense of community that you have on one.
"This will be a great opportunity to continue the progress we have made, and we are hopeful that we will come out of special measures in the next 12 to 18 months."
Fresh start
For Buile Hill, it will also be the chance of a fresh start, after its GCSE results slipped dramatically in the past few years.
The money for the rebuilds has been approved by Schools Minister Jacqui Smith.
But Hope High, which was also earmarked for a rebuild, will miss out as the council does not have enough PFI cash.
However, the council is looking for alternative sources of money for the school.
Coun John Warmisham, the council's spokesman for children's services, said: "This government announcement will enable us to improve the services that both these schools provide. We know that this translates directly into raising standards in education.
"Better school buildings improve the learning environment for pupils and allow teachers to concentrate on teaching rather then dealing with distractions. But it will also mean the schools can play a bigger part in the development of their communities."
Under PFI, private companies will build the schools and the local education authority will pay a mortgage for 25 years, at the end of which the buildings will be owned by the authority.
A private firm would also be responsible for maintaining the building and providing services such as cleaning and catering.
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my child goes to harropfold and i am affraid that things there are not as good as they say, the children are still being left alone in classrooms because there is no teacher, and when they ask why they are told that they will be given 50 mins detention if they carry on. in the next couple of days my child and a few others have been asked to help to paint the school corridors and help the cartaker arround the school, they are in their last year what about their exams
I have 2 children that attend Harrop Fold, one at Hilton Lane and one at Longshaw Drive, they both thoroughly enjoy school and I have never been any more than impressed with the way the school is managed by Mr Edkins and his staff. My children's learning is the most important and feel that they are receiving the very best standard of education.
I would like to invite the parent of this student to contact me directly at school so that these concerns and issues can be discussed, and so that we can arrive at a solution and hopefully provide an acceptable answer.
Congratulations to Harrop Fold on their continuing success. I'm sure a new school building will mean that their progress continues in an upward spiral, this can only be good news for its current feeder schools who have children dropping out at astronomical rates. However not all schools who have new buildings have their fortunes turned around, take The Albion High School for example; although the teaching staff work extremely hard and are very committed I dont believe that their new B#10million building did much, as it was put in special measures a year after they had moved onto their new site.
As for the parent who is hiding behind anonymous comments, how does this help the school to improve? You need to show your support for the school even if this means giving negative criticism. If the Head doesnt know about the problems what can he do?
why have children been asked to stay home while the inspectors have been in harrop fold school weds 7th and thurs 8th,is there any more parents like me who has been told to keep ther child home