The handover took place on 18th January to mark the move of St Benedict’s RC High School and Mayfield SEN School on to their new, state-of-the-art site – Campus Whitehaven.
The Campus will not only improve social interaction of children from all backgrounds, but will also facilitate and encourage educational facilities to share ideals, knowledge and resources.
The design and layout of the new schools and associated facilities have been developed through close collaboration with St Benedict’s Catholic School and Mayfield School – endeavouring to meet the separate requirements of both schools whilst integrating these facilities within a joint campus.
The campus also incorporates a range of informal spaces, new access points, car parking and new sports facilities including an indoor sports hall, fitness suite, hydrotherapy pool, natural turf pitches, an all-weather pitch and two multi-use games areas which will be available to the local community during non-school hours.
St Benedict’s acting headteacher Steve Bridgman said:
“It is wonderful to be able to mark this significant point in the history of our school.”
“The staff and, more importantly, students are already starting to take advantage of the opportunities given to us by the new state of the art facilities. About five years ago, we dared to dream about this and now, marvellously, all the planning and hard work has become a reality for the students and staff of both schools.”
“It’s an amazing gift to our communities, families and students alike. Our staff and students are settling in to the new buildings and beginning to enjoy the new facilities and technology. There has been huge interest from the community in the enhanced sports and leisure facilities.”