“One of the finest school buildings in the country” – new secondary school celebrates official opening
Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville, and Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children's Social Care, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, joined City of London Academy Shoreditch Park students at the official opening of its new permanent school building. Read the full new story.
The new facility has been delivered through more than £40 million investment, half of which is direct Council funding, with the Council also providing a high-specification temporary facility while the new school has been completed.
The school, which used more than 60 apprenticeships and work placements during its construction, will provide places for over 1,100 pupils, with a community use agreement in place so that the new facilities can be used by the wider community.
The new Shoreditch Park Academy represents our continuing ambition for education in Hackney, seeing over £40m of investment not just into one of the finest school buildings in the country, but even more importantly the future of our young people. Together as part of the wider Britannia project we are delivering the biggest investment in Shoreditch for a generation, which has already provided a state-of-the-art new leisure centre and will include genuinely affordable homes for local people.
The opening is also a landmark moment in our commitment to overcoming funding challenges to provide the high-quality facilities and infrastructure that Hackney residents deserve, directly delivered by the Council and serving some of the most challenged parts of our borough.
This is a fantastic new school for Hackney and we’re incredibly excited to see the opportunities it will bring and this 21st century building is what our young people deserve.
Having spoken to many students already and hearing their speeches today, it's clear they’re already enjoying the new facilities and it was a pleasure to join them and the passionate school leadership team and our City of London partners in marking the opening of the building. I hope our young people feel empowered and take every opportunity the new facilities provided.
The new City of London Academy Shoreditch Park is part of Hackney Council’s wider new Britannia project which has also delivered a state-of-the art new leisure centre and hundreds of new homes, including homes for genuinely Council affordable social rent and shared ownership – all built directly by the Council through its innovative, in-house direct delivery model.