Trust school’s £2million revamp

A popular Barrow school is close to finalising a £2m revamp of its learning environment for pupils after its future was secured through joining a multi-academy trust.

Chetwynde School, which is a member of the Furness College-led South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, is currently completing an £800,000 project to upgrade its Our Lady House building.

Once the work is complete the transformed facilities will provide improved classroom spaces for its secondary school pupils and a theatre for dance and drama.

In addition, this year it is investing £50,000 of school funds on brand new IT infrastructure to replace laptops and desktops for the pupils and staff on top of £250,000 from the Education and Funding Agency to replace the school’s ageing boilers.

Head Teacher Steve Jefferson said he was excited to see the school moving forward to ensure its facilities provided a learning environment to meet the needs of pupils in 2021, while still reflecting the traditional ethos of the school.

“We are thrilled to able to invest in facilities at Chetwynde School and to transform Our Lady House, which was in desperate need of repair, and we know our pupils – and staff – will enjoy teaching and learning in these fresh, new spaces.

“Since the Department for Education backed our plans to join the multi-academy trust, they knew that the future of the school was secure and were able to confidently support our plans to improve the school’s learning environment and facilities.

“The work nearing completion follows a project to replace the roof and fit new windows for our Grade II listed main building, totalling £1million, and puts us on the right footing as we look to enhance our provision under the Trust.”

The South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust was launched by Furness College in order to strengthen education across the area.

Chetwynde is the founding member with other primary and secondary schools invited to express an interest in joining.

Principal and Chief Executive of Furness College Professor Andrew Wren, who is the Executive Head Teacher and CEO of the Trust, said he was delighted at the progress.

“There is so much more that schools can achieve if they are part of a truly collaborative partnership, such as the one we have with Chetwynde through the Trust. We are sharing expertise and knowledge and supporting improvements for the benefit of the whole education community.”

For further information about joining the Trust, email info@furness.ac.uk

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Chetwynde pupils will benefit from an improved learning environment, including transformed classroom spaces.