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Big day for Monkseaton's multi-million pound school - Video
STUDENTS who have helped shape a futuristic £20m high school on North Tyneside have seen their dreams become reality.
Monkseaton High School was officially opened on Friday in a celebration led by one of the country's leading design thinkers.
The new building combines innovation, design, sustainability and cost-effectiveness to create an impressive learning environment for its 900 students.
Sir John Sorrell marked the opening, along with his wife Frances, and was joined by current and former students involved in the design process.
Sir John is a former chairman of the Design Council and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. His charity, The Sorrell Foundation, collaborated with staff and students at Monkseaton in the early stages of the new school's conception, and introduced key ideas about light, space, air and colour.
Sir John said: "Frances and I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the creation of the new High School.
"We really enjoyed working with Dr Kelley and the wonderful students from Monkseaton in the early stages of the new school's conception.
"It is marvellous that pupils were involved in the thinking about the building and they have helped to create a legacy for generations to come."
Mayor of North Tyneside, Linda Arkley, said: "The completion of this new building marks the start of an exciting new future for teaching and learning in North Tyneside, and places us at the forefront of school design in this country.
"We have successfully balanced cost-effectiveness with student-led design and extremely high levels of innovation to create a truly world-class learning environment."
The new school replaces a former 1970s building. Its distinctive oval and aerodynamic shape means it needs less energy to heat or cool and its orientation was specifically planned to maximise daylight but minimise over-heating.
Head Teacher Dr Paul Kelley said: "After years of hard work, our dreams and aspirations have finally become a reality.
"All along, we have been dedicated to providing the best possible learning environment for our students, and I believe we have achieved that and more, with this fantastic new building, which has already been recognised as an outstanding example of school architecture."
The multi-layered, open-plan interior of the building has also been constructed to harness and maximise natural daylight.
Its domed roof places an emphasis on allowing natural light into the building, and very few ceilings have been installed between its three floors – instead daylight filters through a series of roof and wall lay-lights directly into the classrooms and throughout the building.
On darker days, light levels are boosted with '1,000 lux' lamps suspended from the roof which mimic daylight to combat the sedative effects of low levels of winter daylight.
A ceiling-free multi-use sports hall has been positioned at the centre, and open-plan teaching spaces and classrooms overlook the facility.
The design avoids the use of square classrooms, and incorporates triangular teaching spaces to create a 360 degree teaching environment which enables the teacher to be the focus of the students, wherever they are in the room.
Other features include a bistro-style dining area, a dance and drama studio, a video wall, music suite, recording studio, student-designed 'toilet pods' and several open-plan study areas.
The school is also at the cutting edge of ICT and has been kitted out with the latest software from Microsoft.
And its sustainability features, which include thermal solar panels to heat hot water, and a natural air ventilation system which uses 'wind catchers' incorporated into the school's roof, have recently earned it a 'very good' rating from BREEAM – a scheme that grades environmental and sustainable features in new buildings.
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Weather for Whitley Bay
Sunday 05 February 2012
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Temperature: 1 C to 7 C
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