Greens have celebrated the official opening of a new school in Holland Road, Hove. Open since September, the school is the result of a major £2.4 million refurbishment to convert the old Hove Police Station into a modern school.
The school currently has 90 Year 3 pupils, but within four years, the school will be home to approximately 500 pupils and 40 members of staff.
Government rules prevent councils from building and running new schools themselves. However the Green-led council acquired the old Hove Police Station and it is now operating as an extension of the existing Hove Junior School nearby.
Councillor Alex Phillips, Goldsmid ward councillor who has been campaigning for the project for several years, said: “The government has made it near impossible for councils up and down the land to provide the good quality, balanced and local school places that parents want.
“I’m ecstatic that my suggestion of converting the old police station into a new facility for Hove Juniors became a reality under this Green administration.”
Notes
Sussex Police Officers and Neighbourhood Community Officers transferred last year from the Holland Road site into a new shared Customer Service Centre at Hove Town Hall, as part of a joint-working initiative which is saving tax payers money.
The new school building now features 16 classrooms with a year group on each floor. The building also includes a library, staff room and kitchen alongside a brand new extension for a state of the art school hall with solar panels on the roof. The outdoor play area includes a mini football pitch, a grassy area, an astro turf area and a garden.
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