Building Schools for the Future in Tameside

Pupils ponder the big questions...

TAMESIDE pupils got their say on how £100m should be spent on building the schools of the future in the borough at an event held at Manchester United Football Club.

And Education minister Ruth Kelly was on hand to hear how just what it was the youngsters wanted as Tameside launched its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in November.

Every high school in Tameside will benefit from the huge cash boost, which is part of the national BSF scheme to improve education. That's why the council is carrying out a major consultation exercise to get residents' views on how the money should be invested to improve 21st century learning for all young people aged four to 19.

To link in with this, the council staged conferences over two days - one for secondary pupils and one for primary pupils - to get their ideas to put in Tameside's education vision, which will be published at the end of the month.

"Who better to ask than pupils about how schools of the future should look and what sort of facilities should be available," said Cllr Ged Cooney, executive member for lifelong services.

The conferences were designed with help from pupils from Dowson Primary in Hyde and Two Trees Sports College, Denton.

About 160 primary school pupils and 80 secondary pupils travelled to Old Trafford and enjoyed a number of interactive workshops focusing on the daunting question - "Why do we go to school?."

The pupils were able to tour the 'market place' - a series of stalls with displays and competitions - and aired their views via a video camera in a media booth. They were also able to run on to the Old Trafford pitch and imagine what it's like to be a top footballer.

"The views of our young people are vital to our vision," added Cllr Cooney. "After all, they are the ones using the current facilities and are best placed to tell us how things can be improved."

Jim Taylor, assistant executive director, services for children and young people, added: "We want the pupils of today to play their part in creating the schools of the future."

"These interactive conferences brought out some innovative ideas that will help revolutionise education in Tameside."