A NEW future is greeting students at Belfairs High School in Leigh as the school reopens for the autumn term in its £31million new building.

The new school is packed with modern technology.

Its opening comes as the school celebrates record exam results.

Schools minister Nick Gibb, who toured the new building, praised head John Duprey, his staff and the contractor Skanska, for their work.

He said: “It is a high quality building which has been beautifully designed to take into account the needs of human beings, with its wide hallways and large classrooms.

“I believe other schools could learn a great deal about making over their buildings just by coming to see the good work which has taken place here.

“What can happen on projects like this, with large buildings being constructed, is that people take their eyes off the academic side of things.

“But this hasn’t happened here, with the exam results improving this year.”

The building was officially opened by former chairman of governors, Betty Mashford.

The school features teaching areas, which it calls “hubs” for the arts, humanities, science, technology, maths and a “stem” area, for mech-anical and engineering subjects.

It also has a post-GCSE education section, and a satellite base for Southend Adult Community College.

In the arts hub, for subjects such as art, dance, drama and photography, about 150 Apple Mac computers await pupils.

The building also boasts studios for dance and a multi-purpose main hall linked to two drama studios, which can either be joined up or separated using folding panels.

Workshop space in the stem hub, for engineering and mechanical subjects, has been doubled. Even the sports hall, the only older building to escape demolition, has benefited from a new gym room. It will soon have two new changing rooms for pupils, after the conversion of the old multi-gym room.

During break times, pupils will be free to mingle in the school’s canteen and dining area, while the school’s grounds will be landscaped to give views down to Belfairs woods once the old school is demolished.

At the new school, John Duprey will act as school principal, backed by head of school Melanie McGauley and deputy principal Linda Burrage.

Beneath them will be four vice principals, three to lead the different teaching areas and a fourth to help oversee the running of the school and its facilities.

The school employs about 220 staff, including around 90 teachers, who will share three staff rooms across the new building.

Mr Duprey said: “Each hub has a staff base and each will be for about 35 people. The idea is that people from related curriculum areas will have more contact, rather than being split up.

“In the old school the departments, especially smaller departments, had their own little offices and didn’t get to talk to other staff much.

“As a young teacher especially, you need to talk to other staff and this will mean no one is isolated.”

Demolition work is set to begin later this month on the old school buildings, which means much of the parking area is out of bounds for the moment.

In response, Southend Adult Community College has decided to launch its courses at the school with a smaller class list, which will be expanded once full parking capacity is achieved.

Stephen Lay, principal of the adult college, is very excited about what the college’s eight-room base at Belfairs will offer to mature learners.

He hopes its interaction with the school will help entice parents into considering courses.

Adult learners will be enrolled and will have to access the school through carefully controlled security doors, but will be able to take advantage of rooms such as the school’s photography suite.

School pupils are also able to take part in lessons within the college’s rooms, with staff also crossing over where possible.

Mr Lay said: “If we have a specialist member of staff, or if we need a tutor and there’s a teacher with those skills, there is that opportunity for us to work in partnership with Belfairs. It’s a two-way flow of students and staff.”