Work has begun to provide additional places at Sandy Secondary School and more facilities for pupils, as part of the New School Places Programme.
With a current capacity of 1,175 pupils, the construction of a new teaching block and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) block will ensure the school can accommodate up to 1,440 pupils when the work is completed in the winter of 2024.
A new floodlit 3G all-weather sports pitch will also be built while the existing school building will be refurbished.
A ground-breaking ceremony was held at Sandy Secondary’s Engayne Avenue site on February 28, to officially mark the start of the construction stage with invited guests joining staff, pupils and representatives from the Council, Ashe Construction, and Concertus Design & Property Consultants.
Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, Councillor Sue Clark, said: “We are delighted that work has begun on this exciting transformation project for Sandy Secondary School, which is aimed at helping improve the education of young people in the area by offering more facilities for the pupils, whilst increasing specialist learning spaces to meet the changing demands of the curriculum.”
Sandy Secondary School Executive Principal, Karen Hayward, said: “Increasing student numbers and our transformation to a full secondary school in 2019 has meant that we have outgrown our current buildings.
“The school site has had little investment over the past decades and the accommodation and infrastructure has presented significant challenges to our aim to deliver first-class education.
“We are very much looking forward to being equipped with high-quality state-of-the-art facilities to match the aspirations and ambition that we hold for each and every person within our community.”
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