Morgan Sindall breaks ground on £13m Blackpool academy

Building firm Morgan Sindall has started work on a £13m project to transform Blackpool’s South Shore Academy with an additional 53,000 sq ft of space.

The school, located on St Anne’s Road, is set for an overhaul with the construction of a new three-storey main building and single-level sports hall.

The main building will comprise 25 classrooms, with general classrooms on the first floor and space for art and science on the second.

Designed to be fully Sport England compliant, the new sports facility will feature double-height space and a room to accommodate Special Educational Needs (SEN). When complete, the hall will remove South Shore Academy’s reliance on the nearby leisure centre.

The improvement works will also see the school’s four existing buildings demolished in time for the start of the new school year in September 2017, to be replaced with a new car park and a tree-lined cycle and footpath.

South Shore Academy is one of 12 school sites being reworked by Morgan Sindall under the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) North West Batch, which includes schools Manchester, Stockport, Blackpool, Wigan, the Wirral and Chester.

Barry Roberts, Morgan Sindall’s area director, said: “We’re proud to be delivering another school as part of the PSBP NW programme.

“Once complete, the new look South Shore Academy will provide pupils and staff with a modern learning environment and will be an enduring addition to the educational offering in the area.”

He added: “As with all of our construction work, we set out to not only cause minimal disruption to school life, but also to complement the teaching on offer by providing access to work placements and careers advice for pupils interested in the construction industry.”

Bright Futures Educational Trust (BFET) CEO Dame Dana Ross-Wawrzynski was present at the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday (June 17).

She said: “As a trust we are committed to creating a teaching and learning ethos which will enable pupils to fulfil their academic potential, which includes providing them with the best possible facilities.

“The renovation work at South Shore will provide an innovative and modern learning environment, which will fully support and inspire our pupils. We are delighted to be able to work with Morgan Sindall to deliver this.”

BFET was set up in 2011 and represents a partnership comprising nine of the region’s schools.

The North West general manager of Morgan Sindall Investments Limited, Gary Naylor, said: “We are delighted to have commenced work on another school in the PSBP NW Batch and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the EFA and the staff and pupils of South Shore Academy to successfully deliver their new school in September 2017.”

The revamped South Shore Academy will be able to accommodate up to 900 pupils.