New term begins at ‘school of the future’ (From St Helens Star)

New term begins at ‘school of the future’

EDUCATION in St Helens witnessed the dawn of a new era as pupils sat down to classes in our town’s first ‘school of the future’.

A NEW era: Cowley principal Cameron Sheeran outside the £18m school

Cowley Language College’s spectacular £18 million school opened fully to pupils this week, marking a momentous day in the secondary school’s proud history.

The Star was given a tour of the striking three-floor complex that has been built off Hard Lane, in Windlehurst.

Featuring cutting edge computer and green technology, the 1,200-pupil complex is a far cry from the days of ink-wells when the school was born at Cowley Hill Lane more than a century ago.

So sophisticated are the facilities that carbon dioxide levels in a classroom can be monitored and adjusted to ensure pupils do not become too sleepy while at their desks.

FIRST class: Year 8 pupils Mica Howard, Leah Atherton, Connor Brown and Jordan Darwin prepare for lessons

Pupils collect their dinners after having their fingerprints scanned with a biometric system and 16 plasma screens will hang from a hallway displaying class work and information.

There are more than 40 classrooms, eight resource centres, a library, lecture theatre, and an Apple Mac suite. Teachers maintain it will transform learning.

And if the buildings are impressive, then environmentally friendly technology is equally staggering.

A biomass burner converts waste to fuel – partially powering the school, rainwater is collected and reused throughout the complex, and there is natural lighting.

Cameron Sheeran, Cowley’s principal for the past five years, said: “In terms of sustainability this school is immense.

ROOM with a view: Pupils look out over the balcony

“It is the first school in the building schools for the future to reduce its carbon footprint by 60 per cent, we are very proud of that – and it will reduce energy costs massively.

“It is a hugely momentous day for the school and for the borough. It is a school for the 21st century.

“I am very grateful to our partners Willmott Dixon (the developer), the local authority, and the school who have worked tremendously hard to get this in place.

“As their head teacher it makes me very proud to see pupils relishing using the new facilities.

“Every aspect of the building is about learning – and there are probably more computers in this one building than there was in the country 50 years ago.”

A further £5 million will be pumped into redeveloping Cowley’s ‘old’ school at Hard Lane to create a new sixth form and sports facilities.

Other secondary schools will also be transformed over the next decade after St Helens Council secured £150 million funding.