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You are here: Greenwich / News / Thomas Tallis new buildings officially opened by David Miliband

Thomas Tallis new buildings officially opened by David Miliband

May 17, 2012 By Rob Powell

David Miliband & Chris Roberts with Thomas Tallis kids
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

listen to ‘David Miliband at Thomas Talis (Part1)’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘David Miliband at Thomas Talis (Part2)’ on Audioboo

Thomas Tallis School - New Buildings
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

Thomas Tallis School - New Buildings
Main Entrance

Thomas Tallis School - New Buildings
New drama studio

Thomas Tallis School - New Buildings

David Miliband at Thomas Tallis opening

Thomas Tallis School - New Buildings

Filed Under: News

Comments

  1. Darryl says

    May 17, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    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).

  2. Pedro says

    May 17, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    …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.

  3. Paul Webbewood says

    May 17, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    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

  4. Paddyom says

    May 17, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    Bloody useless labour; we spend, who cares who pays.

  5. Pedro says

    May 18, 2012 at 10:01 am

    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.

  6. Jenny Tingle says

    May 18, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    “New state-of-the-art facilities”? Pfff, the windows that couldn’t be shut and overcrowded corridors didn’t do my education any harm!…. 😉

  7. Bob says

    May 19, 2012 at 3:41 pm

    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?

  8. Zana says

    May 21, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    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!

  9. flow management says

    August 8, 2012 at 9:05 am

    It is best to participate in a contest for probably the greatest blogs on the web.
    I’ll advocate this website!

Trackbacks

  1. Elementary my dear Watson - David Miliband MP – Official website says:
    May 18, 2012 at 11:48 am

    […] my dear Watson May 18th, 2012 It was a huge privilege to open the new Thomas Tallis school today. It is a fantastically impressive example of the Building Schools for the Future programme.  But […]

  2. Five local schools to get cash for rebuilds | Greenwich.co.uk says:
    May 25, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    […] the previous government’s Building School for the Future programme, which financed the newly rebuilt Thomas Tallis School, after taking office in […]

  3. Boris’s Dutch cycling mystery in Greenwich « 853 says:
    June 25, 2012 at 8:45 am

    […] in Greenwich, or somewhere in the wider borough – Kidbrooke Park Road springs to mind, where the new Thomas Tallis School has loads of cycle racks, but nothing’s been done to make cycling there […]

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