The new home for the Royal School Manchester is now available for pupils following the completion of a £23 million project.
An official opening was held for the new Moulding Foundation Building, which includes an assembly hall for 200 people, a dining hall, a high-tech audiology suite and a swimming centre comprising a learner pool with a rise-and-fall floor.
Seashell Trust, the charity that operates Moulding Foundation and provides specialist education for young people with complex disabilities and communication challenges, unveiled the new multi-million facility yesterday (20 April) in front of over 130 patrons at its campus in Stockport.
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The unveiling was held by Sir Warren Smith, Seashell President and Brandon Leigh, Seashell CEO, for Royal School Manchester, 200 years on from the charity’s creation in Manchester by local merchants Robert Phillips and William Bateman in 1823.
Together with the school, a wing will house facilities shared with its specialist college, Royal College Manchester.
These include an assembly hall for 200 people with retractable seating, a dining hall with both group and individual dining spaces, an assessment suite with a high-tech audiology suite and a swimming centre comprising a learner pool with a rise-and-fall floor and an interactive hydrotherapy pool.
Jodie Moulding said: “The Moulding Foundation’s belief is that everyone should have access to the resources and environment that will enable them to work hard and succeed in education. We want to help support the most vulnerable in society and enable people and communities to achieve their full potential.
“We have supported Seashell for a number of years as we believe it is truly making a huge difference to the lives of many families across the UK.
“Royal School Manchester is a world-class facility for children with complex needs and we are proud to have The Moulding Foundation name associated with it. It’s right here in Greater Manchester, showing the world how it’s done.”
A successful fundraising appeal for the new building saw the charity raise over £11.5 million from private donors, grant-making trusts and local companies. The remainder was raised from the sale of a portion of the charity’s farmland.
The building, designed by Newcastle-based architects, Faulkner Brown, utilises a series of light-gatherers to provide indirect sunlight for classrooms and acoustically designed foundations to ensure no reverberation.
There are also 34 hoists in classrooms, eight different sensory rooms, light stimulation rooms and low arousal rooms available to the teachers and learning support assistants to meet the needs of the students.
Emma Houldcroft, Headteacher of Royal School Manchester, said: “The new building will enable us to offer an enhanced curriculum which will greatly extend the opportunities we provide for these extremely vulnerable children and young people.”
The Moulding Foundation was joined on the evening by key patrons of the charity from across Greater Manchester’s business and philanthropic community, including the Mason family, the Zochonis Charitable Trust, the Mulchand Foundation and Michael Josephson MBE.
Many of the supporters, both individuals and businesses, have had the honour of a classroom or facility named after them within the new building.
Guests also heard of the charity's next phase- to embark on fundraising to create a new Royal College Manchester as the existing building, despite numerous adaptations over the years, now presents challenges for the current student population.
Brandon Leigh, Chief Executive of Seashell, said, “We have already been told that the Moulding Foundation Building will set the gold standard for special schools in the UK. Outside school hours we plan to use the building to host national conferences and training events.
“We are now committed to delivering the next phase and replicating the quality of Royal School Manchester with Royal College Manchester on this campus in the very near future.”
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