AVON Valley College in Durrington celebrated the opening of its new teaching block that will "enhance teaching and facilities".

A special ceremony was held on September 24 which was led by Brigadier Paddy Ginn, the Commander of 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade based in Bulford.

The decision was taken in 2016 that there was a need for increased school place capacity as a result of the army rebasing programme and this saw the building of St Michael’s Primary School in Larkhill, which opened in 2018, and the build of a new block of classrooms for Avon Valley College.

The building project cost around £4.6m with funding from the Ministry of Defence. 

Brigadier Ginn said “The opening of the new classroom block recognises the strength and depth of the relationship between the military and local population. Nearly 200 children from Service Families in over 30 units attend Avon Valley College; the commitment to their education has been recognised by the Ministry of Defence who provided funding for both the new build and also a number of other areas, as part of the rebasing programme, to help ensure that Avon Valley College continues to be able to provide the very best education for all the children in the community."

The 15 new classrooms, spread over three floors, will provide seven classrooms for general use along with two for ICT and a suite of classrooms for art, music and drama along with staff work rooms.

The head of school Louisa Paston added: “Avon Valley College is a thriving community school that delivers top quality teaching to all pupils and is especially proud of its strong links to the Army and the units based in the local area.

"The school is very firmly on an upward trajectory in all areas and the addition of the superb new block will only serve to enhance the teaching and facilities that are available at the school and enable us to continue to meet the needs of the pupils in the years ahead."

The new classroom block at Avon Valley College has been built by Halsall Construction.

The Executive Principal for Salisbury Plain Academies and former principal of Avon Valley College, Sam Johnston, said “The 15-classroom state-of-the-art three story new block is a fantastic resource for Avon Valley College that will transform provision for the expressive arts and ICT and provide a welcome new home for the expanding sixth form and maths department.

"The project has been a long time in coming but the careful planning of, and close communication between, all parties has meant that each specialised classroom will provide far greater opportunities for creative projects and significantly enrich the curriculum.”