David Miliband, Chris Roberts and Executive Head Bryon Parker are joined by students for unveiling of plaque.
DAVID MILIBAND MP visited Thomas Tallis School, Kidbrooke, this morning to officially open its new buildings.
The secondary school has undergone a complete rebuild using money from the Building Schools for the Future programme which was set up by the last government.
Mr Miliband, who was Schools Minister when the scheme was initiated, arrived at Kidbrooke railway station and walked to the school where he enjoyed a tour of the new state-of-the-art facilities.
The former Foreign Secretary gave a short speech to guests during the opening ceremony, where there were brilliant musical performances by pupils Zana Wilberforce, Matilda Morris, Jess Ludlam and Jazz Rodrigues, and a thought provoking piece by year-10 student Nadeem Islam.
Listen to David Miliband's speech
New recording studio in Thomas Tallis School.
But with some PFI projects attracting criticism because of expensive contracts - one school that had to pay over £300 for a plug socket has been repeatedly highlighted in the press - is Mr Miliband still convinced that PFI deals represent value for money for taxpayers?
"Every project whether it's conventionally funded or PFI funded needs to be done in an efficient way, and you can see here what happens when you spend money well so there's no excuse for wasting it," he said.
Additional funding from the council has paid for a dedicated dojo, an artistic gymnastics gymnasium and a sports hall with space for six badminton courts. Council leader, Chris Roberts, said Thomas Tallis School had "grasped the opportunity" and it had been "transformed". He added:
"It's a fantastic place for people to come and learn. All of the [BSF] projects in Greenwich had particular challenges. This one had challenges around flood defence because it's close to the Quaggy but you can see the product of everybody's efforts and, backed by excellent teaching, we hope it will become a beacon of education for the future."
Photographs from this morning's opening
Main Entrance
New drama studio
Did anyone ask David Miliband if he thought it was wise of Greenwich to sit on its allocation of BSF cash for several years before starting work at Tallis? That hold-up meant Blackheath Bluecoat (now closing) and others missed out on improvements, while schools in neighbouring Lewisham got a complete revamp (like St Matthews Academy in Blackheath).
…he could have also asked why Lewisham has opened Prendergast Vale and hugely improved schools like Addey & Stanhope – while the John Roan redevelopment became a symbol of What Went Wrong with BSF and Kidbrooke became an Academy to free itself from the cold dead hands of Chris Roberts & flunkies.
It’s not Labour that’s at fault – it’s Old School Greenwich Labour.
See the rather cryptic mention of Greenwich at Question 84 in this Parliamentary report
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmchilsch/192/192.pdf
Bloody useless labour; we spend, who cares who pays.
Interesting – but not that cryptic – Tim Byles understands the statement as meaning Lewisham was good and Greenwich is bad. Their reputation is well-known.
Byles blaming some of the disparity on Environmental concerns presumably means Greenwich Council thought it was fine to have kids learning in a polluted environment right next to a large gas container.
But it it’s not just John Roan… and it’s not just buildings. It’s the results, which differ dramatically between Lewisham and Greenwich, given similar intakes – which means the life chances of thousands of children are being diminished.
“New state-of-the-art facilities”? Pfff, the windows that couldn’t be shut and overcrowded corridors didn’t do my education any harm!…. 😉
Of course the question is where are the rest of the students and staff? Why were nearly all of the 1700 students excluded from the ceremony? Almost all off the 200+ staff were also excluded. And why have the massive volume of complaints made against executive head Byron Parker been repeatedly ignored by Greenwich council?
What about Zana Wilberforce? Also a performer!!!!!! Highly offended. -.-
Rob Powell Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Sorry Zana – humble apologies. Have updated the article!
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