Steel signing ceremony takes place as work gets underway on new Sheffield school building

A steel signing ceremony has taken place as part of the construction of a brand new school in Sheffield.
Bee Wood, princip of Byron Wood Primary academy in Burngreave signing the steel with students as part of the schools new building projectBee Wood, princip of Byron Wood Primary academy in Burngreave signing the steel with students as part of the schools new building project
Bee Wood, princip of Byron Wood Primary academy in Burngreave signing the steel with students as part of the schools new building project

The first steel beam has been installed at Byron Wood Primary Academy, in Burngreave – a new state-of-the-art building which is due to open in time for the next academic year.

The occasion was marked with a steel-signing ceremony on Friday, November 15, attended by the Department for Education, the Astrea Academy Trust and the contractor, Interserve.

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A group of four Year 5 pupils wore high visibility vests and signed their names on the very first steel and dated it.

Byron Wood Primary Academy principal Bee Wood, with representatives from the Astrea Academy Trust, Interserve and the Department for Education stood with year 5 pupilsByron Wood Primary Academy principal Bee Wood, with representatives from the Astrea Academy Trust, Interserve and the Department for Education stood with year 5 pupils
Byron Wood Primary Academy principal Bee Wood, with representatives from the Astrea Academy Trust, Interserve and the Department for Education stood with year 5 pupils

They also buried a time capsule to record and remember the schools history.

Principal Bee Wood said: “It is wonderful that our children have had the chance to truly become a part of our school’s history. This ceremony marks another important step in our improvement journey and towards our new state-of-the-art facilities, which will mean that we can continue to provide an education that inspires beyond measure for all our children.”

The existing school – described as ‘inefficient and oversized’ for its 472 pupils, aged between three and 11, and 57 members of staff – was built as a secondary school in the 1930s before being converted to a middle school in the 1960s.

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In 1991 it joined with Ellsemere Nursery to become Byron Wood School, later joining Astrea Academy Trust in 2016 when it converted to an Academy.

The new school is being delivered through the government’s Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) and is being built while pupils continue to learn in the existing building.

It will provide pupils with a brand-new sports hall, an additional studio with a sprung dance floor and a food, science and Design & Technology room with state-of-the-art technologies.

The nursery will be given its own entrance and all the children in Years 1 and 2 will move to the same floor with their own entrance.

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Once the existing school has been demolished, the area will be landscaped, with new playing areas and a forestry school area.

Byron Wood Primary is also continuing to fundraise for new outdoor facilities for its students.

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