The brand-new Bluecoat Trent Academy secondary school opened its doors this week, constructed on the former site of Clarendon College, on Mansfield Road (Pelham Avenue).
This fantastic new 1,200 place secondary school in the heart of the city, will help to meet the growing need for secondary places in Nottingham. It first opened in September 2021, initially in a temporary home on the site of the Bluecoat Aspley Academy, while the new build was being constructed.
Bluecoat Trent Academy is operated by the Archway Learning Trust, who have a strong track record of providing a high standard of education for pupils aged 3 to 19, and a broad and inclusive curriculum through their five other high performing Nottingham schools. We value the contribution they make to Nottingham’s educational offer, working in collaboration with the Council and on closing the gap for disadvantaged pupils.
From the very outset, Nottingham City Council’s Education colleagues in Pupil Place Planning, worked in collaboration with the Archway Learning Trust, to support the bid to the Department for Education for a new secondary school. This successful partnership working has continued throughout. The bid was underpinned by the Council investing £3.25m of Basic Need Grant funding from Central Government towards the purchase of the site for the new school.
Securing this fantastic new £30m state of the art school located in the heart of Nottingham, is tremendous investment for the city and the communities the school serves. The commitment to raising aspirations and improving life chances of our young people is fantastic.
A new year 7 intake of 240 pupils have joined the school this week, along with all 660 Year 8, 9 and 10 pupils who have moved over from the temporary Aspley site.
The new school provides classrooms and specialist facilities for all subjects, including 9 science labs, a large sports hall, gym/dance studio, drama studio, DT workshops, lecture theatre, kitchen and dining facilities, landscaped grounds and outdoor recreation space including 2 multi-use games pitches.
It was officially opened on Tuesday 3rd September with multiple partners represented at the event, ahead of pupils being welcomed the following day to kick off the start of the new school year.
Cllr Cheryl Barnard, the City Council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “It is great to see the new Bluecoat Trent Academy open and ready for pupils. The school has been designed and built to provide a high quality, supportive and inclusive environment for children of all abilities to learn and thrive. The pupils and staff that I spoke with were excited about their new school building and looking forward to starting lessons this week.”