New school in Milton Keynes

6 September 2010, 06:00

63 pupils are going to be the first through the door at Brooklands Farm Primary School today.

It's opening in Broughton in Milton Keynes - that's one of the estates which is still being developed. The school is the first building on the block, and the high street is being built around it.

As the area grows, more students will go to Brooklands, which has got space for 420 pupils, aged between 4 and 11. Staff numbers will also increase, but for now there are just ten teachers there.

Work started on Brooklands Farm in July last year - it's cost £7 million to build and is the first new school to open in MK since Priory Rise in September 2008.

The school is split in to two sections - one where children will have their lessons, and the other which provides facilities like meeting rooms and changing rooms which people and groups based nearby can use.

Headteacher Maxine Low told Heart she hopes the building will be used widely by local people, and that it'll help to build a sense of community:

"I think it takes a community to educate a child, and therefore I need the skills and talents that are out there to come together to give the children in this school the best education they can possibly have."

"Already I've home visited the majority of the parents, and there's a real sense of purpose about coming together, because at the end of the day everybody wants the best for the children in Milton Keynes and this area. So they'll find the solutions, I'll just provide the space."

Brooklands Farm has glass-fronted classrooms, to make the learning that goes on there transparent. It also has outdoor classrooms, learning balconies and spaces for children to work independently. There are indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a music room, a library and a fitted kitchen - which could eventually act as a business incubator for local people who want to start a catering company. The school's got wi-fi throughout and pupils have got access to laptops and mini notepads to help with their learning. Parents will meet teachers in a meeting room, kitted out with home furnishings.

And the environment's been thought of too - the school's got a Biomass boiler, solar panels and toilets that are flushed by rainwater.

The first few days of term are being recorded by local film company Living Archive, to show what it's like to start at a new school in 2010.