HRH The Princess Royal will be greeted by crowds of flag-waving youngsters from Mayfield School on the morning of Tuesday 2 July before she takes a tour of both St Benedict’s Roman Catholic High School and Mayfield Special School.
The unprecedented £30million investment in the campus came from a range of partners including The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Sites Ltd, Copeland Community Fund, and Cumbria County Council.
The Campus includes community sports facilities as well as state of the art provision for St Benedict’s Roman Catholic High School and Mayfield Special School and brings them together on the former St Benedict’s site, and has radically improved the teaching and learning environment and will boost students’ aspiration and attainment.
Contractor of the campus, Wates, worked with parents, students and the wider community on the design and layout of the new schools and sports facilities which includes new community sports provision and other facilities which are already bringing benefits to the whole community.
The Princess will end her visit by unveiling a plaque to officially open the campus and will be presented with a posy by two St Benedict’s School students.
Gillian Temple, Head Teacher of Mayfield Special School said: “We are delighted and honoured to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Campus Whitehaven and have the opportunity to showcase our wonderful new facilities.
“We hope Her Royal Highness will enjoy seeing our fantastic new learning environment along with the commitment and dedication of all our students and staff.”
Steve Bridgman, Acting Head Teacher at St Benedict’s Roman Catholic High School, said: “We are looking forward to showing our guests around the new facilities, giving them the opportunity to meet our hardworking staff and pupils and see some of the fruits of their labours.”
Jamie Reed, head of corporate affairs for Sellafield Ltd, said: “This is Sellafield Ltd’s largest single community investment. And I think it will prove to be one of the best decisions we ever make.
“Campus Whitehaven is a world class learning environment and a real statement of the confidence we have in the future of our community.
“It will help raise educational attainment levels and allow our young people to access the higher level skills we’ll need to successfully complete our decommissioning programme.”
Paul Dodsworth, Managing Director, Wates Construction North, commented: “Campus Whitehaven has been a fantastic journey for Wates. From day one of the project we have worked closely with the local community, staff and students to create a school that serves them, a school that young people can enjoy and be inspired by. Wates completed construction of Campus Whitehaven earlier this year and it is a very proud day to see the culmination of everyone’s hard work and dedication on what has been an exceptional project.”
Cllr Keith Hitchen, Chair of Copeland Community Fund Board, said: “It is exciting to see the Fund’s investment of £3 million become a reality in terms of exceptional community sports and leisure facilities. We would encourage members of the local community and community sports organisations to take full advantage of what should be an amazing community asset.
“We look forward to ongoing development of the early community interest in the facilities, enhancing the opportunity to generate positive social impact in terms of health and wellbeing.”
Cllr David Southward, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “This is a wonderful moment to celebrate and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to see just how amazing the new campus is. A huge amount of work by all partners has gone into making the schools a reality and it’s genuinely exciting to think about what this place is already doing for local young people and the area as a whole.”
Mike Starkie, Mayor of Copeland, said: “It’s a proud moment to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Whitehaven to showcase this outstanding new facility. The campus is already having a significant impact on our community, both in terms of education and sporting provision, and it will continue to do so for generations to come.”
