Pupils at Manchester's newest high school are to move into their new building several months ahead of schedule it has been announced. Work is currently underway on the new school at Belle Vue, being built on a 12.6 acre site on Hyde Road once home to east Manchester's Showcase Cinema.
The council bought the cinema, which closed when the pandemic hit and never re-opened, and its site with demolition work beginning last year. Before that, the site was also home to the legendary Belle Vue entertainment complex.
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Co-op Academy Belle Vue, which will eventually take in 1,200 pupils, accepted its first raft of Year 7 students last September. They have been taught in temporary premises at Connell College in neighbouring Beswick, whilst their new permanent building is finished.
The pupils were last week invited to a 'topping out' ceremony where they got a bird's eye view of what will become their new home. And council chiefs have now revealed the project, being carried out by construction firm Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, is ahead of schedule.
Rather than moving into the new facility next September, as was scheduled, the town hall say work is set to be finished later this year and that pupils at the co-educational school will now move in some time either before the end of this year or early in 2023.
The main school building will be three storeys high and contain a teaching block, an adjoining drama block, and a two-storey sports block that will have a separate entrance so it can be used outside of school hours by the local community.
The main building will include the school's reception a community hub with a library on the floor above, and a dining hall.
To the rear of the site which also borders Kirkanshulme Lane, there will be two large playing fields and a multi-use games area with courts to accommodate tennis and basketball, a five-a-side football pitch, and training areas for netball and hockey. There will also be a 140-space car park.
At the ceremony last week pupils, accompanied by a piper, marched onto the roof of the new building. They also helped pour concrete on top of a traditional good luck evergreen laurel bow, that will remain set within the building's structure forever.
Gorton and Abbey Hey ward councillors Julie Reid and John Hughes were in attendance at the topping-out ceremony. Coun Reid, who is also the Chair of the council's scrutiny committee for Children and Young People, said that she was "very proud" to be involved in the project to build a new high school for children in her ward and that she had asked for the name of the school to include the name Belle Vue as it sits is on the site of the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens where she used to work as a teenager.
Speaking afterwards, Coun Garry Bridges, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Children and Schools said: "The academy might have only opened a few months ago - and in temporary accommodation for now - but it's already making a positive difference to its pupils.
"It's brilliant news therefore that building work on their new school building is well-ahead of schedule and that pupils are now going to be able to move in a lot sooner than planned and well before the original date set of September 2023.
"Our children and young people deserve the best education, delivered in the best buildings, and this is what we're determined to ensure they get."
Benjamin Barker, Head of Academy, Co-op Academy Belle Vue, said: "We’re very excited to be that much closer to moving into our amazing new school on Hyde Road. Not only will it be an amazing place for our students to learn and grow, but with our state-of-the-art sports, teaching and expressive arts facilities, it will be a fantastic hub open to the whole community.
"I want to thank Manchester City Council and Sir Robert McAlpine for working with us to build this amazing addition to East Manchester. It’s a true testament to what can be achieved through co-operation."
