Churchill Academy & Sixth Form awarded £50K grant to kit out brand new science and technology building
Staff and students at Churchill Academy & Sixth Form are starting the new term in the brand new Athene Donald building, which will now, courtesy of the Wolfson Foundation, be fitted out with up to £50,000 of state-of-the-art equipment.
The funding was awarded following rigorous and independent expert review of the Academy’s plans to develop science and technology at the Academy. It will ensure that students not only have a new and modern building to learn in, but the tools and apparatus to enable them to conduct complex practical work to exacting research-level standards, preparing them for bright futures in the field of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
The £3.9m new building, funded by the government’s Condition Improvement Fund, is named after Dame Athene Donald, Professor of Biological Physics and Master of Churchill College at Cambridge University. It contains twelve science laboratories and two food and nutrition suites, and will serve as the flagship building for the Academy’s programme of science and technology education.
The Wolfson Foundation is an independent charity that awards grants to support and promote excellence in the fields of science, health, education and the arts & humanities. The Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2015. Representatives of the Wolfson Foundation visited Churchill Academy & Sixth Form in September to review the school’s bid, meeting with key staff including the project leader, Mrs Leyla Pattison, and Headteacher Mr Chris Hildrew. The decision to award the funds was warmly received by staff and students.
“I am absolutely delighted that our application has been successful. Our teaching is centred on engaging our students about the exciting world of science; the new equipment we will be purchasing will help us capture their interest even further,” said Mrs Pattison.
Headteacher, Chris Hildrew, said, “this successful award is the icing on the cake for the Academy’s science and technology provision. Not only will our students study in a brand new building, but they will have the latest, modern equipment to use for their practical work. This will inspire and enable our students to push themselves even further in their studies. It’s Churchill’s vision that we set no limits on what we can achieve, and this project is testament to that.”