Progress continues at new Middleton academy

Principal Eric Jackson (fourth from right) alongside pupils and guests celebrate the topping out by helping to raise the final piece of steel.

The new St Anne’s Academy school in Middleton is well on the way to completion just seven months into the construction phase.

The significant progress of the construction work has been marked with a ‘topping out’ ceremony.

Last Friday (19 June) Principle Eric Jackson, pupils, council staff and contractors donned hard hats to mark a milestone in the building of the £17.6 million development.

They helped raise the final piece of steel to complete the frame of the structure.

The development is part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, which will see an essential transformation of secondary education in the borough. The new academy on Hollin Lane, Middleton will accommodate 900 pupils and include the creation of new buildings together with the total renovation of one of the existing school blocks.

Principal Eric Jackson said: “Today is yet another significant day in the development of St Anne’s Academy. We are all very excited with progress, and to see the steel frame complete is very encouraging.”

Yasin Khan, Programme Manager at Rochdale Council said: “There will be a major investment for the St Anne’s Academy, in information and communications technology, which is a vital part of the transformation. Our aim is to build a school that the local community can be proud of and gives every young person the very best possible start in life.”

Sue Brown, Head of Schools at the Council said: “The ceremony marked the culmination of a great deal of hard work from all the people involved in the project and it’s exciting that the building is starting to take shape. I know that Middleton is really going to benefit from the investment.”

St Anne’s Academy is set to open in September 2010, with 750 places available for pupils aged 11-16 years and a further 150 places dedicated to post 16 education.