School’s library officially opened
EXPANDED FACILITY COMPLETE FOLLOWING FUNDRAISING
A SCHOOL library which was transformed and almost doubled in size following a year-long fundraising campaign has been officially opened by two special visitors.
The Sheriff and Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor David Cook, and children’s author Dan Smith were on hand at Walbottle Campus – a large secondary school in the outer west of the city, to declare the new school library officially open.
The celebration marked the end of Project Literacy to Achieve – a 12-month campaign organised by the school charity, the Friends of Walbottle, to redevelop reading spaces for the benefit of students throughout the school and sixth form.
The £200,000 project to transform the library was achieved with support from the Friends of Walbottle, whose fundraising successes included securing grants from the Foyle Foundation, the Ballinger Charitable Trust and Warburtons, as well as raising money from a charity ball, student fundraising activities and corporate sponsorship.
The school was able to commit the outstanding funding required for the redevelopment, and work began to transform the library over the 2018 summer break.
The project has almost doubled the size of the library and created a modern and engaging space with upgraded IT facilities. The new library boasts a greatly expanded stock of books as well as space for individual and group study, and whole class workshops.
The grand opening included a ceremonial cutting of the ribbon by Coun Cook, who had previously held the role of governor at Walbottle Campus for over 20 years, three of those as chair.
Kerry Lord, head teacher at the school, said: “When children develop a love of reading, they are more likely to succeed in life after school. At Walbottle Campus, we are delighted to provide our students with a fantastic new library and superb literacy programmes to ensure that they get the best opportunities to develop their skills and reach their full potential.”