State of the art school 'Topped Out'
9 March 2010
A new £28.4m school building in Canning
Town has been ‘topped out’ to mark its structural completion.
In a ceremony attended by Councillor Quinin
Peppiatt, executive member for children and young people, the final
piece of concrete was poured into the ground of Rokeby School,
which is due to open in September 2010.
The school is being moved from its current
site at Pitchford Street to brand new building off Barking Road
which will offer pupils state-of-the-art facilities.
The building has been constructed as part of
the £250m Building Schools for the Future programme with additional
funding from the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.
The 900-place new school will have a six court
sports hall, a fitness suite and outdoor fitness trail and a
floodlit all-weather pitch. It will also feature a high-tech
information technology system to accommodate an increased number of
computers and laptops and a wireless network.
The classrooms have been designed so physical
space can be expanded or reduced according to the size of a
class.
Quintin Peppiatt, executive member for
children and young people said: “Standards at Rokeby School are
improving and the school is rapidly building a reputation that it
can be proud of. This brand new building will offer pupils
state-of-the-art facilities in keeping with this exciting
transformation.
“We want all of our children and young people
in the borough to achieve their full potential and this new school
will be fit for a 21st century curriculum.”
Once all pupils have moved onto the new site,
the existing Rokeby School will be demolished. The site will be
cleared and a new building for Stratford School will be built in
its place.
Peter Andrews Chief Executive of the
London Thames Gateway Development Corporation said: “LTGDC's
approach and investment in Rokeby is a prime example of how our
support can help transform a school both physically and
academically.
“We are thrilled to have enabled this brand
new enlarged campus to be built and also ensured that the local
community benefited as much as possible from these facilities
opening in their area.”
Mark Richardson, business leader for Laing
O’Rourke added: “Laing O’Rourke, as construction partners within
the Newham BSF programme, are proud to mark this significant
milestone in the delivery of the new Rokeby School. We are now
looking forward to completing the school in time for the 2010-11
term.”