Silverdale School: Sheffield secondary opens three-storey classroom block just one year after green light

A Sheffield academy has opened a new three-storey classroom block to help the city cope with hundreds of more pupils starting school in the next decade.

Just 13 months after getting approval from the council, Silverdale School has cut the ribbon on a 'state-of-the-art' new block at an openining attended by South Yorkshire's Mayor Oliver Coppard.

The construction comes as the need for secondary school places is expected to steadily but greatly increase in the near future, brought on by a 25 per cent rise in birth rates between 2002 and 2012.

The additional students that Silverdale School can now accommodate will, by 2027, result in an additional 300 students.

The resulting three-storey building, which stands alongside the original school building, includes 14 'state-of-the-art' classrooms and a dedicated Sixth Form facility, built and managed by contractors Gate and Bar as well as Portakabin.

Sarah Sims, head of Silverdale School said: “We are delighted with our wonderful new facilities.  It is particularly important to us that our additional capacity means that we can offer amazing Silverdale opportunities to the children and young people within our catchment area and beyond. Our staff and students are already feeling the benefits that the cutting-edge facilities and increased space are having, and we look forward to sharing these with more students in the future.”

Councillor Dawn Dale, Chair of Education, Children and Families Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “This has been a huge project and it’s very rewarding to see the opening of the new facility at Silverdale, which has been made possible by lots of planning ahead, excellent partnership working and hard work.

“The creation of these additional school places will make a huge difference to more Sheffield families, especially those who are more vulnerable and those who have special educational needs. We look forward to seeing children flourish and thrive in this wonderful new setting.”

The expansion was given the go-ahead in mid-September 2022, despite residents concerns over increased traffic