New £1 million dining hall opens at Newport school
A new £1 million dining hall and canteen has opened at Newport’s Burton Borough School as part of a major upgrade and expansion.
Work on the project – which has included an extension of the dining hall and a complete kitchen refurbishment – has been going on since last summer.
“It is such a pleasure to see this facility now open; it really does transform the student experience,” said the school’s business manager Rita Barton.
“Our catering team have been nothing short of phenomenal over the past few months, working out of temporary facilities and a mobile kitchen while the building work has been going on.
"This new facility is a reward for all their sacrifice and hard work. For the students, it gives them a greater selection of hot food choices and a much larger and more modern indoor social space.
"We have tried to give it more of a college or university campus feel, and we’re very pleased with the results.”
The school will officially become part of the Telford-based Learning Community Trust in the coming weeks, joining other local secondary schools Hadley Learning Community, Ercall Wood, Telford Priory School, and Charlton.
The Trust says the primary focus for Burton Borough will be built around four strategic objectives – creating engaged and successful students, ensuring high-quality teaching, continuous improvement, and effective leadership and governance.
Executive principal Richard Gummery, said: “Catering facilities are such an important part of school life. We know that encouraging students to eat nutritious meals at school every day boosts attendance, productivity and results.
“The Trust strongly believes that students must feel supported and to want to be, and to stay, in school. They need to enjoy their time here if they are to thrive and succeed, and it’s already clear to see they love the new dining facilities.”
The Learning Community Trust was established in June 2017 to create a multi-academy trust driving school improvement and ensuring the best possible outcomes for students, and several of its schools are now over-subscribed.
In addition to secondary schools, it also runs special schools including Queensway in Telford and Severndale in Shrewsbury, plus primary schools in Wellington, Crudgington, Hadley, Ketley Bank, and the newly opened Allscott Meads.
