Work to build new junior school in Rotherham starts with official soil-cutting ceremony

(L-R) Rebecca Scutt, assistant CEO of the Aston Community Education Trust; Cathryn Keeton, principal designate of Waverley Junior Academy; Councillor Bob Watson, council member for Rother Vale; Andrew Kingston, managing director of Houlton; John Barton, chair of ACET; the Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Jenny Andrews; Paul Smith, head of asset management at Rotherham Council; the Mayoress of Rotherham, Councillor Jeanette Mallinder; Andrew Parry, capital projects co-ordinator at Rotherham council; Andy Watson, estates manager for ACET; Dean Fenton, Rotherham Council’s head of school planning, admissions and appeals and Mark Arthur, ACET asset premises manager

Waverley Junior Academy, which is being built to serve the wider Waverley community, promises to be a state-of-the-art facility with an eventual capacity for 420 pupils with early years facilities, catering for children aged between two and 11.

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The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Jenny Andrews, along with representatives from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Aston Community Education Trust joined forces to break ground at the location of the new school, which is due to open its doors next year.

Andrew Kingston, managing director of Houlton, the contractors which will build the school, also took part in the ceremony on Thursday, July 18.

There is currently no school on the 250-home Waverley development, but local families will be able to apply for places for their children from August this year, ahead of the school opening in September 2020.

Eunice Newton, CEO of the ACET, said: “It’s wonderful to think that the ground where everyone was standing will be occupied by a brand-new school in just 14 months’ time, and the soil-cutting ceremony certainly makes everything seem more real.

“There has been a tremendous amount of hard work that has gone into preparing the plans for the school and everybody will be able to see all that effort come to life over the next few months.

“We have also held an information event for prospective parents recently and there is a great deal of excitement. The whole community is behind this project and we’re looking forward to creating a school that Waverley can be proud of.”

Cllr Gordon Watson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Children and Young People’s services at Rotherham Council added: “The addition of this primary school to the Waverley development will not only meet the needs for the surrounding community, but will also be a great opportunity to create a school with the newest and best facilities, particularly in close proximity to the our world class manufacturing facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, which we hope to make the most of."