The wonder of Wokingham B.C. Waingels
Students and teachers at Waingels College in Woodley were delighted to hear officially that they are set to benefit from one of the biggest ever capital grants for education in the Wokingham district.
And Wokingham Cllr Frank Browne joined pupils and teachers at Waingels College to celebrate after being told that the bid for £29million to rebuild the college to provide a modern learning environment bringing real benefits to students and staff has been successful.
This project will provide the college with a learning environment that will really make a difference to the students and teachers. By designing and rebuilding the college it would allow innovative teaching and learning and would also ensure the student’s use of the site outside of college hours and the extended use of the site by the wider community over weekends, evenings and school holidays.
Funding has been assured by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and they have agreed the Wokingham council can proceed to rebuild Waingels College. An outline business case is now being prepared to submit to the DfES to enable design and build contractors to be appointed.
Over the coming months, consultation will be taking place with stakeholders including pupils, teachers, governors and the wider community on what the new college will look like and what facilities it will have. Once the business case has been approved, the council and college can move to the next stage, which will see detailed designs drawn up with involvement from the college. These designs would be subject to the normal planning process, and it is intended that a planning application will be submitted by September 2007.
Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “This is very welcome news. This will see significant investment of some £29million to rebuild Waingels College and this is great news for students and teachers that will really benefit from this investment. We all share a common vision that we want to raise standards further, improve access and choice in education and have buildings that are fit for the 21st century and this is what our Education Vision aims to do. I’m delighted to see it start to come to fruition.”
“This is the start of a long journey to transform education in the district and it very much reflects the council’s commitment to improve our secondary schools. I am delighted we have been given the green light and it is an exciting time for the whole college community at Waingels.”
Executive principal Richard Green said: “We are so pleased that at last the government has given the go-ahead to this exciting project that will see Waingels re-built on its existing site as a world class centre for 21st century learning.
“We are now about to start the first and most important phase of the project – consulting our key stakeholders, especially our current and future students and their parents, about what they want from the new school. We intend to put on a series of visits to inspirational architectural sites throughout the UK and provide opportunities for groups to work alongside teams of architects to brainstorm ideas. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we aim to get right first time.”
And Wokingham Cllr Frank Browne joined pupils and teachers at Waingels College to celebrate after being told that the bid for £29million to rebuild the college to provide a modern learning environment bringing real benefits to students and staff has been successful.
This project will provide the college with a learning environment that will really make a difference to the students and teachers. By designing and rebuilding the college it would allow innovative teaching and learning and would also ensure the student’s use of the site outside of college hours and the extended use of the site by the wider community over weekends, evenings and school holidays.
Funding has been assured by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and they have agreed the Wokingham council can proceed to rebuild Waingels College. An outline business case is now being prepared to submit to the DfES to enable design and build contractors to be appointed.
Over the coming months, consultation will be taking place with stakeholders including pupils, teachers, governors and the wider community on what the new college will look like and what facilities it will have. Once the business case has been approved, the council and college can move to the next stage, which will see detailed designs drawn up with involvement from the college. These designs would be subject to the normal planning process, and it is intended that a planning application will be submitted by September 2007.
Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “This is very welcome news. This will see significant investment of some £29million to rebuild Waingels College and this is great news for students and teachers that will really benefit from this investment. We all share a common vision that we want to raise standards further, improve access and choice in education and have buildings that are fit for the 21st century and this is what our Education Vision aims to do. I’m delighted to see it start to come to fruition.”
“This is the start of a long journey to transform education in the district and it very much reflects the council’s commitment to improve our secondary schools. I am delighted we have been given the green light and it is an exciting time for the whole college community at Waingels.”
Executive principal Richard Green said: “We are so pleased that at last the government has given the go-ahead to this exciting project that will see Waingels re-built on its existing site as a world class centre for 21st century learning.
“We are now about to start the first and most important phase of the project – consulting our key stakeholders, especially our current and future students and their parents, about what they want from the new school. We intend to put on a series of visits to inspirational architectural sites throughout the UK and provide opportunities for groups to work alongside teams of architects to brainstorm ideas. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we aim to get right first time.”
Wokingham Borough Council
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