School gets mayoral approval as it opens new sixth form centre in Wolverhampton
A new sixth form centre at a city school has been given the mayoral stamp of approval.
The new centre at St Edmund’s Catholic Academy in Wolverhampton was officially opened on Wednesday by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre at a big celebration event.
Costing £50,000, the centre will consist of three learning spaces, a university-style learning area, a well-being room and a kitchen and will be fully staffed and fully equipped to support 21st century learning.
Academy Principal , Maggie Hazeldine said the rapid growth of the sixth form had enabled the school to invest in the centre and provide a place for their pupils to flourish.
She said: “Our focus has been on providing independent learning areas to build student’s self confidence and skills to extend their learning outside of the classroom. It’s about them becoming self-propelling in their academic and pastoral growth.
"The sixth form head Ms Toor has been central to bringing this together, as well as the teachers and the pastoral team who work so hard to ensure all students have the support they need. It is a real investment for us in Post-16 education.
"It's all about ensuring our sixth form is first choice for St Edmund’s students; investing in them to support their university and apprenticeship aspirations"
Mrs Hazeldine also said that the visit from the Mayor, who spent time meeting members of staff and pupils at the school, had been lovely and said the Mayor also had a link to the school through a member of staff.
She said: "One of our science teachers is his daughter, Rachel Cooper, so we were thrilled to have him here both in his professional capacity, but also to see the wonderful contribution of his daughter to our school.”
Mrs Hazeldine said the new centre was one of a number of developments the school was investing in as it looked to the future.
She said: "We are keen to develop our own inclusion centre in Compton Park to provide high quality alternative provision for students who might struggle in school or have particular needs.
"That's our next project and we're working with the local authority on that at the moment, so the future is looking bright at St Edmund’s.”
