Devizes sixth form bid can take flight
12:00pm Friday 24th February 2012 in Devizes
By Lewis Cowen
Staff and students at Devizes School were delighted as they were given the go-ahead for their new sixth form building this week.
The new sixth form centre will form an east wing to balance an existing wing on the other side of the Grade II listed building and will contain state-of-the-art study facilities for sixth formers.
Building work will start in the summer and should be completed ready for students in early 2013.
The school’s plans for the new centre fell foul of the conservation department of Wiltshire Council before it was able to show that the design would enhance the listed building and did not comprise
an over- development of it.
The new build will contain large independent study areas on one floor and an extensive student common room on the other. The exterior of the building has been designed to complement the Georgian
manor house, but the school says the interior will be a hi-tech, purpose-built study and learning environment fit for post-16 students in the 21st century.
Headteacher Malcolm Irons is overjoyed by the news. He said: “At last our students will get the benefit of first-rate facilities to support their already outstanding learning.
“Our sixth form students and staff already produce some of the best results in the area. Our A and AS-level results are expected to improve still further this year and, with the help of these
fantastic new facilities, we have a strong and confident future, enabling us to prepare young people for higher education and their future careers.”
The area of the school that houses the sixth form centre will be redesigned as an Applied Learning Centre, adding further capacity to study Key Stage 4 and sixth form applied GCSE and A-level
courses.
This second phase of the school’s plans will start after the completion of the new sixth form block and will be ready for new courses in September 2013.
Mr Irons said: “We will have the capacity to offer high quality post-16 places for all young people in and around Devizes. Why would you want to go anywhere else?”