London Borough of Bexley and TKAT deliver together Shenstone Special’s School permanent secondary site

This Saturday saw the official opening of Shenstone Special School's permanent secondary site. Timed to coincide with the school’s Christmas fair, lots of families and representatives of the community were there to join the celebrations. 

Special guests included Bexley’s Deputy Mayor, Janice Ward-Wilson, TKAT’s CEO, Russell Hobby CBE, Cllr David Leaf, Leader of the London Borough of Bexley, Cllr Caroline Newton, Bexley’s Cabinet Member for Education, and companies that had played a key part in the project, such as the contractors Apex.

The new development provides up to an additional 140 secondary school places for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, allowing the school to offer an ‘all through’ provision with places for children aged 2 to 19, it was made possible by the work of Bexley Council’s Education and Major Projects teams, funded through DfE capital investment that was secured by the local authority. It provides an exceptional environment and state-of-the-art facilities for its pupils to grow and learn, and will be an invaluable asset to the Borough and to the school community for years to come.

As part of the celebrations, there was a ribbon cutting, the planting of a tree in the school grounds, and the burial of a time capsule, which was filled with things specially chosen by Shenstone students.

Executive Headteacher LoriAnn Mackey said:
"This was a fabulous community event - thank you to all involved who helped us to make this day happen. Our students have a fantastic provision and are delighted with their new school."

TKAT CEO Russell Hobby CBE said:
"The new building at Shenstone shows what we can achieve together in our communities when there is genuine collaboration and the local will to make it happen."

Bexley’s Cllr Newton said:
"We are delighted to be able to officially open Shenstone School.  This is the culmination of extensive efforts from Council Officers, Members, School Leaders and The Kemnal Academies Trust.  I would like to thank parents and carers for working with us while the new school was developed. I would also like to thank school staff and their Trust for working so closely with the Borough to deliver our shared vision of making Bexley even better.”