Sunderland pupils get the 'school they deserve' after moving into new £22m building

Sunderland Echo

Staff and pupils at Farringdon Community Academy have moved into their new £22m building.

Transcript

00:00Okay, and Mr Bedford, I know the school's been waiting a while to move a new building,

00:04so what's it like to be finally in this new build and, yeah, just how does it compare

00:08to the old building?

00:09We're delighted to be in the new build.

00:11We were watching it grow from our old site and to now to finally be in is amazing.

00:16It's light and day from the old site and from moving from four blocks to one building, it's

00:21transformed the learning environment.

00:23Students are inside all the time, we've got state-of-the-art catering facilities, main

00:27hall, we have technology facilities, IT facilities, science labs at the state-of-the-art.

00:33It's really raised the children's aspirations, the culture in the academy feels amazing and

00:38teaching and learning has moved on another level because the staff have now got a platform

00:42to really work with it and move that on each day.

00:45And do you think staff in general have developed a new sense of pride in coming to the school?

00:50Really deep pride now in coming to Farringdon.

00:53The old site was a workable environment but this one now is a site the children absolutely

00:59deserve and feel dead proud to come to and with the outcomes we've got in the summer,

01:03it instils that pride even further.

01:05I know results have already improved as you just mentioned there, do you think this new

01:08building will help improve results even further?

01:10I think it gives us a platform now to push on year on year to make sure the children

01:14are found and get the results they deserve.

01:16I'm adamant that the children will leave here with strong passes in English and Maths and

01:20go to college and do whatever they want to do.

01:23Teaching and learning is the driver for that, not the building, however a building that

01:26has the facilities to do it can only be a good thing and I'm really excited to see where

01:30we go in our journey.

01:32Okay then Chas, what was your reaction when you came into the school for the first day

01:35in this new building?

01:36How does the building compare to the old school?

01:38When I first came in I was shocked, it's nothing you would have expected but it's completely

01:45better than the old school.

01:47There's loads of things to compare, the food is so much better, there's more space, it's

01:53everything you need.

01:55Harry, how was your reaction when you came in on that first day?

01:57It was ten times better, I didn't expect anything, it was well organised, nice food, new toilet

02:03facilities, it was brilliant.

02:05What was it like back in the old school?

02:06Was it really difficult for you learning back there in terms of the environment you were

02:09in?

02:10Yeah, it was all confined space, no toilet room, we had to go across blocks to go to

02:15different lessons, it wasn't as good as it is now.

02:18Isabel, what do you like about this new school building and what's really impressed you?

02:22I like how open and bright it is, it just makes us feel more positive and better to

02:27be in.

02:28I know the school's just had an improved set of results, do you think working in this environment

02:32is going to benefit your education as well, it's going to improve aspirations and improve

02:35results even further?

02:37I think it can definitely motivate us with all the new facilities and everything, it

02:42can make us persuaded to be better and have better results with the new school because

02:46it's the first result that we'll have in the new school.

02:48Do you feel a new sense of pride in coming to Farringdon?

02:51Definitely.

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