New Goldthorpe school is state-of-the-art

The new Goldthorpe Primary School is certainly state-of-the-art — and aimed at providing children with the perfect environment to learn and grow.

The Advertiser joined guests on a tour at the school’s official opening last week and took in a host of clever and creative features.

First impressions are, well, impressive, the school’s exterior being decorated with colourful stripes in bright colours reminiscent of coloured pencils.

And anyone entering the building could be forgiven for thinking they’ve stumbled into a spa, such is the calming environment, with mood lighting, pastel-painted walls and a foyer area with comfy, stylish seating and globally-inspired furnishings.

The classrooms are designed to provide an ideal learning environment complete with wall-mounted monitors, bi-folding doors and light level and carbon dioxide monitors which put the fans on if the room becomes a little musty.

The library is a blend of traditional and new, with Kindles available alongside picture books by the likes of Julia Donaldson and Dr Seuss and the foundation area for very young children made up of loosely-connected play spaces and a large outside play area with artificial grass.

Children are encouraged to move between the zones as they wish, while the full-width doors in all classrooms can be fully opened to help take learning outside.

Outside, there is a large eco-learning area outside, where children will feed chickens and rabbits, grow their own crops and learn bushcraft skills, as well as a mini-assault course and a storage container brightly-decorated with a mural of a tropical island scene.

The progressive approach goes further, with children displaying concerning behaviour in class not punished but subject to an “intervention”.

This can mean them leaving class and spending time with eco-schools co-ordinator Chris Wharton feeding the animals or otherwise helping with the school’s outside plot.

This can be done in larger groups or on a one-to-one basis, depending on the situation and helps to improve pupil behaviour, said Mr Wharton.

And far from being happy with their lot, the school is already planning new developments, with the enthusiastic eco-teacher revealing there were plans for a maize maze in the school grounds.

It’s pretty clear Goldthorpe Primary is all about raising aspirations, and there’s no hiding the fact the school is serving a deprived area.

After all, just across the road is near-deserted Beever Street, a road so run-down the council has bought up a row of boarded-up houses and plans to regenerate the whole lot.

Not enough children get a proper breakfast at home, and developer Robertson dug deep to fund a 12-week breakfast club for 80 kids while its staff were building the new school.

But the mood in school is positive and hopes are high the new primary will be a beacon for the village.

Cllr Roy Miller, Barnsley Council’s Cabinet spokesperson for place, said the council-funded school was “a striking gateway building for the town”.

He added: “I’m sure it will prove to be a shining example of early years education, not just in Barnsley but for the rest of the UK.

“I know the teachers and staff will do everything they can to give the children the best possible start in life.”

During the construction, site foreman Gordon Fawcett has taken assemblies, taught pupils about structures and organised a school trip to the steel fabricator, so the children could witness at first hand the steel structures for the school being made. 

The children — previously based at the corner of High Street and Doncaster Road — had regular visits to the site of the new school and on Earth Day in April they planted saplings.

On the official opening day, Bard of Barnsley Ian McMillan led a special assembly alongside Private Eye cartoonist Tony Husband.

The duo worked with children to dream up and perform their own song about the village and its history.

Pupils — who pupils  shared a cake in the shape of the new school to mark their move from the previous site at the corner of Doncaster Road and High Street — have been settling in to their new classrooms for the past fortnight but the formal ribbon-cutting was performed last Tuesday by ten-year-old students Ellie Lee and Perrry Cooper.

Ellie declared the new building — just along Doncaster Road from the school’s old base — “really good, a lot better”, while Perry said he particularly liked its new, larger, better-equipped playground.

Ahead of the opening, Robertson managing director Paul Turner said: “We’re honoured to have Ian and Tony here with us and they will be entertaining and inspiring the children.

“As a Radio 4 listener, there was no better candidate than the Barnsley Bard.”

Poet Ian — who joked that he’d only been booked because Dickie Bird wasn’t available — and artist Tony presented a framed copy of a specially-commissioned poem “Welcome to our new school”.

Its lines describe “A school that will make us proud, Of all the exciting things we do.”

It’s certainly a school to be proud of — and one which looks to have a very bright future.