'Exciting prospect' for community

Unlike the buildings at Myrtle Springs, universally agreed to be long past their sell-by dates, Waltheof pupils were being taught in a building little more than a decade old, the school having been rebuilt following a disastrous fire in 1995.

This will be demolished once the new school is ready - proof, according to their critics, that academies have more money than sense.

But managers insist that despite its recent vintage, the 'new' Waltheof school is still unsuitable for delivering the education they want to provide.

"We want to provide 21st century education in a 21st century building," said Park's interim head Ray Wilson.

"Waltheof as was simply doesn't have the right sort of facilities for the high-quality vocational and skills-based training we are keen to deliver."

Key subject areas for Park's older students will include construction, engineering, catering, hair and beauty, and travel and tourism.

As a business and enterprise specialist, it will have a different feel to its sister academy.

Built to an E shape design the building feels smaller than Springs - but that it is because it has an extra storey built into its sloping campus area, which has a 17 metre slope.

"It is a more challenging site - we had to put in a lot of work on the ground before we began and the design goes down in a series of terraces with the biggest area reserved for the sports pitches," Mr Hogger said.

Mr Lewis said pupils in both academies were excited about moving in during the new year.

"It's all so fantastic, it's hard for them to get their heads around it. They have seen the buildings rising out of the ground and their expectations have been rising.

"I think it's an exciting prospect for the whole community as well," Mr Lewis added.