New primary school opens on former Allscott sugar beet factory site
Staff, parents and children were over the moon to see the opening of their brand new school on Tuesday.
School staff were joined by a handful of students and their parents to cut the ribbon at Allscott Meads Primary and announce the new school open for learning.
Fifty pupils were being welcomed into classrooms on Wednesday, but the school has a capacity for 150, aged three to 11 - plenty of room for the growing community of Allscott Meads.
A 470-home development by SJ Roberts Construction and its sister company, SJ Roberts Home, is in the process of creating a brand new village located on the site of the old sugar beet factory.
Mike Sambrook, MD at SJ Roberts Construction, said: “The vision for Allscott Meads, following the demise of the sugar beet factory that once stood on this site, was to create a vibrant community that appeals to a wide demographic.
"A school was always central to our vision, and we’re delighted to have successfully delivered that."
The new school will form part of the Learning Community Trust, the eleventh in its family of schools in the area.
"The loss of the sugar beet factory affected this whole community, but it left a tremendous availability of space and the opportunity to create a whole new village." Mike Briscoe, the trust's chair explained.
"But you can't have a good village without a community and a community school.
"As soon as the development was proposed, we were very keen to offer support to develop a new primary school.
"Two years on, here we are in the most amazing building that will help regenerate a community and bring together both the existing residents and the new ones."
Headteacher Kirsty Parkinson said being given the role was a "fantastic privilege".
During the opening ceremony she told parents and students: "I cannot begin to tell you how lucky I feel, that the Learning Community Trust asked me to take on this fabulous privilege to work with these people and these children.
"The facilities are like nothing I have ever experienced in my career before - and I've been teaching for quite a long time now.
"The building is absolutely stunning, I could not be more grateful to the trust and SJ Roberts for building it for us."
Parents who watched on as their children cut the ribbon, said they too were impressed with the new facilities.
Emma Hems, whose children Noah, 10, and Olivia, 8 will be starting at the school on Wednesday, said it was "beautiful".
Emma said Noah will be the only child in year six, but that hasn't bothered the 10-year-old, who is "over the moon" to be starting.
She added: "I just feel so confident. Noah had a few issues at his previous school, but he can't wait to start here.
"The staff have been so good with me and so good with Noah."
Joyce Foromani said her seven-year-old daughter Lauren had been watching the building of the new school closely.
"She was excited from the moment we moved in here," Joyce explained.
"She saw the school being built and just couldn't wait to start. She was just so excited.
"And I'm so happy, it's a wonderful community area and the school will provide the best education for that community.
"The fact it is a small school means it will be more individulised for the children, with more face-to-face learning, which is what most children want."
