Heartlands High School to open on time

Publication date: Monday 23 August 2010

Heartlands High School will open, as planned, to students and staff this September.

The school in Station Road, Wood Green is a key part of Haringey’s £200million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

Students and staff at Heartlands High School will have access to classroom spaces on four levels of the south teaching wing, as well as administration rooms.

Facilities available from September will also include four ICT suites, three multi use games areas, a dining hall and kitchen, and cycle racks for up to 80 bikes.

Building contractors Willmott Dixon began work on the state-of-the-art school in August 2009 and now the first 162 pupils can look forward to starting lessons.

A harsh winter affected building work, however the contractor, the council, and the school have confirmed that it will be ready for its scheduled 3 September opening. The school is on track to be fully completed by spring 2011.

Cllr Lorna Reith, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said:

“I am delighted that the hard work of all those involved has paid off and that students, and staff, can look forward to truly outstanding facilities at Heartlands High.

“Together we have overcome some difficult circumstances to get the school open on time – and to make sure that students will enjoy access to the very best education from the first day of term.

“Because Haringey started BSF projects early and made good progress, we were able to protect them from the government cuts which have forced projects in some other boroughs to be scrapped.

“We are proud to be opening a new community school, on time and in budget, in the heart of Haringey in the face of the current climate.”

Headteacher Simon Garrill has written to parents and students to confirm that the school will be opening as planned. He said:

“All of those involved have worked extremely hard to get the school open on time.

“The commitment of those involved will mean that Heartlands High School students get the best start to the new term imaginable.”

Chris Tredget, Managing Director of Willmott Dixon Construction, said:

“We have faced a number of major challenges on this project but through close cooperation with the council, the head and a huge commitment from the workforce on site these have been overcome. We hope the first students are going to enjoy making the most of their new first class facility."

BSF in Haringey is already enabling thousands of young people to experience new ways of teaching and learning through improvements in ICT, and modernised school buildings and facilities at each of the borough's 12 secondary schools.

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