New £5m building for Northway Primary School

The new Northway Primary School in Wavertree was opened today in a special service led by former students.

Four year old James Fearns, who is the school’s youngest pupil and 88 year olds Majorie Fletcher and Dorothy Stewart, who attended the original school back in the 1930s, cut the ribbon to the new building.

The new building, which is part of the £169m school refurbishment scheme funded by the government and Liverpool City Council, replaces a worn-out Victorian building which dated back to 1927. It has been built to accommodate twice as many children as the old building and now has two forms of entry and will eventually accommodate 420 pupils.

The new school includes a dedicated cooking room, 4D immersive learning space, outdoor classrooms with canopies and a ‘Spanish Step’ area for assemblies and performances.

The new school also includes a community room which is separate to the school and will be used by local residents groups.

The outdoor space includes a raised green mound with a tunnel, which is proving popular with pupils and has been nicknamed the ‘Teletubby mound’ because of its similarity to the landscape in the TV series.

To mark the day, pupils buried a time capsule which included a song written by pupils and a DVD of the previous school, to be reopened in 2035.

Headteacher Paul Anderson says: “This has been an incredible journey and experience for the whole school as we have been able to have so much of a say in the design of the new building.

“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to create a new facility which will be used by generations of pupils, and we have been careful to try and future proof the school by designing it in such a way that the spaces can be used flexibly.

“The whole school community is incredibly thrilled as it’s a wonderful environment to learn and work in.”

Councillor Nick Small, Cabinet member for education, employment and skills, says: “I am delighted that we have been able to fund this new school which will give generations of young people in Wavertree a solid start to their education.

“We have been absolutely determined to make sure that as much of the construction budget is spent locally, and recycled through the economy and into the pockets of workers in the city.

“In the case of Northway, around 95 percent has gone to contractors based in Liverpool City Region and we have also made sure there have been apprenticeship opportunities for local young people.”