Derby’s newest school has play area on the roof
IT was an exciting day for five young children on Friday when they became the first pupils at Derby’s newest primary school.
The £8 million Castleward Primary School in Canal Street - part of the Spencer Academies Trust is vital to the local regeneration plan for this area of Derby.
It has been built primarily to accommodate children from the new homes in Castleward and the former DRI site and also the youngsters of workers at the Florence Nightingale Community Hospital and local businesses.
Principal Lindsay Trail is delighted that after being in charge – but with no pupils – since April, that she was able to welcome the first youngsters, who will soon be joined by at least 10 others in the nursery and foundation two groups.
She said: “The idea is that the school will fill up gradually over a number of years, taking in a new year group annually and the previous groups moving up a year.
“Eventually, there will be 320 pupils and we firmly believe that the school will become a significant part of this growing community.
“Our parents are incredibly keen and were delighted when they visited the school with their children to see it before starting on Friday.
“When I arrived on the first day, it suddenly dawned on me, after all the planning, what a momentous day it was.”
Despite the inner-city school being built on the smallest plot of land allowed for a school, Lungfish Architects have made maximum use of the space available, which still includes grassed and playground areas outside.
But the school has also been built upwards to include first and second floors built around a central soaring hall, with a first floor outside play deck and a complete roof available for activities.
Mrs Trail said: “The school has been to incorporate smart technology and flexible spaces that can be altered to accommodate differing numbers of children for assemblies, dining or learning and with great acoustics.
“We have wraparound provision meaning that parents can bring their children from 7am until school starts, through to 6pm after school in a specially allocated area.
“Our outdoor play area will be marked out for football, netball and running, but if children want less strenuous activity they can climb the steps to the first floor play deck to take part in quieter pursuits.
“Eventually, the roof will be completely zoned with areas for outside learning and growing areas with canopies, benches and seating but that will take place over three to four years.”
The school was built on the former Sovereign car park.
The £100m Castleward scheme has delivered 164 homes since work began in 2017 – and at least another 600 properties are to come over the next 15 years.
And a further 800 homes are set to be built on the nearby former DRI site in London Road, as part of a separate development.
Today, the school will be welcoming some temporary pupils from Ravensdale Infant School, in Mickleover, which was destroyed in an arson attack last October and is soon to be rebuilt.
In the meantime, while nursery and reception pupils are able to return to the Mickleover site, pupils from years one and two will relocate, until next June, to Castleward Primary in six self-contained classrooms on the first floor.