£18m High Tunstall opens its doors to next generation of students
A brand-new state of the art £18m school has opened in Hartlepool.
High Tunstall College of Science opened its doors on November 7 after an extensive three-year design and build process.
Headteacher of High Tunstall, Mark Tilling, said: “The college has been an important part of Hartlepool for over 47 years, but the building was old and tired.”
“The facilities and the resources for our young people were not up to the standard they should have been.
“The design of the new college is really special. We’ve worked hard with BAM Construction to ensure that the architects and designers have devised a college that is fit for purpose and moves us forward.
“The new college is designed around the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) agenda meaning STEM is at the heart of everything we do.”
The design for the school began in 2016 with local construction firm BAM and the Department for Education.
Mark said: “I have to say the partnership between BAM, the College and the Department for Education has been fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough of it.”
Facilities in the new building include 10 new science rooms and one demonstration laboratory used to showcase scientific activities which cannot safely be performed by students.
Also included are new art rooms, creative design rooms, food technology and food demonstration rooms where the school will invite top chefs to demonstrate to its students.
A brand-new learning resource centre has also been included where students can learn independently from classes.
The four-court sports hall features solid wood flooring and the ground floor will feature a theatre and dance studio.
Classrooms in the new college contain brand new interactive televisions designed to ensure functional tools which allow teachers to teach, and students to learn.
The new college has been built around what Mark describes as the ‘Heart’.
He said: “We have really placed emphasis on this building being for young people. The ‘Heart’ contains our special needs units and our open plan dining area which is accessible for all students.
“The exterior of the ‘Heart’ has been designed from the bottom up with the creative and design subjects occupying the bottom floor, academic subjects such as Mathematics and English on the middle floor and specialist subjects such as Science, Information Technology and Languages on the top floor.
“Also, linking into the retained building will be further subjects, humanities, music and drama. Meaning we continue to offer a broad and balanced curriculum at High Tunstall.”
Funding for the project has been allocated by the Government’s £4.4 billion Priority School Building Program fund, local authorities and from capital directly raised by the school.
The college will re-open to students on 7th November and the official opening of the new college buildings will take place on March 24th when the college expects to welcome a special guest STEM lecturer to perform the grand ceremony.
Over the past three years the college has welcomed esteemed guests like Helen Shaman OBE, Professor Lord Robert Winston, Marcus du Sautoy and Dave Coplin to be the lecturer and look forward to carrying on this tradition.
Mark concluded: “This project showcases that our students are cared about and invested in. We’ve always been proud of the High Tunstall name and now we have a facility that is befitting the name, befitting the College and will make parents and students feel proud for years to come.”
ABOUT ME
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Bachelor of the Arts in Journalism
Biography
I have a passion for creating high quality written work about a wide variety of subjects, although my focus for the last few years has been particularly on outdoor sports and lifestyle.
I currently write for ThirtySquare, about the world of surfing and body surfing, and Welan, an outdoor clothing company. With them both, I have fantastic business relations and use my 6 years of experience with outdoor sports to write eloquent, engaging content to maximize their audience. I have a heavy interest in adventure sports, and am aiming to bring that love and passion to the media industry – in the hopes to entertain, educate and to encourage more people to get involved.
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For the last five months I have been working as a freelance adventure writer, with a specific focus on surfing and sustainability. During that time I have had the opportunity to work with multiple clients to produce emotional and explanatory pieces that will best suit their audience. Examples of these can be found within my portfolio.
I am also currently volunteering with the media team of UKLSG, the UK Lifeguard Solidarity Group, to create more media coverage about the concerning lack of lifeguarded beaches in the UK due to the coronavirus pandemic – and the impact it will have on both RNLI staff and the public.
