Prime Minister officially opens Sheffield Springs Academy
8 May 2009
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, officially opened Sheffield Springs Academy today at a special ceremony held at the Hurlfield Road site.
The Prime Minister was given a guided tour of the new £27 million building, before being invited to unveil a plaque commemorating the event. A prayer of dedication was also given by the Bishop of Doncaster, The Rt Revd Cyril G Ashton.
Joining the Prime Minister at the event were Mr Mahmoud Khayami KSS GCFO, founder of the Khayami Foundation and benefactor to both Sheffield Academies, his son Mr Alidad Khayami, Sir Ewan Harper, Chief Executive of the United Learning Trust which operates both Sheffield Academies, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Lord Carey of Clifton, Chairman of the United Church Schools Trust (UCST), H.E. Anthony Bailey, OBE, KCSS, ULT Board Member and Governor and Mr Gordon Bridge, Chairman of Governors for Sheffield Springs and Sheffield Park Academies.
Commenting on the event, Sir Ewan Harper said: "The very fact that the Prime Minister has taken time out of his busy diary schedule to open Sheffield Springs Academy serves to illustrate the importance of the Sheffield Academies to the communities that they serve."
David Lewis, Executive Director for both Sheffield Academies, added: "Both academies have made significant progress since they first opened, with Sheffield Springs Academy seeing a marked improvement in attendance and more than doubling the number of students achieving the national benchmark of 5 A*-C grade GCSEs including English and maths."
Sheffield Springs Academy first opened in September 2006 in the existing Myrtle Springs School, before transferring last year to new purpose-built accommodation, which includes the provision of a dedicated sixth form. New facilities at the academy also include:
- Music suites and a recording studio;
- Dance and drama studios;
- A main performance hall with retractable seating;
- State-of-the-art accommodation for all subjects of the curriculum, including business and enterprise, science laboratories, art and food technology workshops;
- New indoor and outdoor sports facilities.
