A SCHOOL fit for the new Millennium . . .

George Tomlinson School has undergone a million pound facelift which has transformed the Kearsley comprehensive into a school fit for the 21st century.

Over the past 12 months staff and pupils have watched buildings disappear before their very eyes and new classrooms appear in their place at the Springfield Road school.

State-of-the-art information technology suites have replaced old metal work rooms which fell well short of national standards.

Where old Rosler buildings once stood, put up to accommodate youngsters when the school leaving age was raised to 16 in the 1970s, there are now ultra modern computer suites.

Gone too is a flat which was built to teach "young ladies" the rudimentaries of running a home and reduced to rubble are two technology rooms and two home economics rooms.

Now new art, food study and modern language suites stand in their place and in other parts of the school there is now a news library, a reprographics office and training room.

Building started just two weeks after OFSTED inspectors left George Tomlinson and their subsequent report highlighted the poor accommodation.

Now headteacher Tony Buckley surveys the past 12 months work with pride. "What we have here is a school which is going places," said Mr Buckley.

"The school we have today bears no resemblance to that of 12 months ago and far from sitting back we are already looking at what we can do next to improve things," said Mr Buckley.

The official opening ceremony after the massive refurbishment was held this week performed by former pupil Steve Martindale, who is now head of Customer Management for Honda UK.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.