Work under way on £14 million Telford church school
Building work is getting under way on a new £14 million joint Anglican and Catholic academy school in Telford which will be the first of its kind in the county.
The new, 900-place Holy Trinity Academy in Teece Drive, Priorslee, is a joint venture between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury and the Anglican Diocese of Lichfield.
The purpose-built academy, expected to be open next September, will, along with the Charlton School, be the last in Telford & Wrekin Council's £200 million Building Schools for the Future project.
Simon Caldwell, spokesman for the Shrewsbury Diocese, said: "It has been described as an 'exciting new stage' in the history of faith-based education in the county of Shropshire.
"The academy will comprise a secondary school and a sixth-form in an area of Shropshire where no such facilities exist at present. Transport has been secured for Catholic children aged between 11 and 16 years who will have to travel far distances to the new academy.
"Work commenced on the academy almost immediately after contracts were signed earlier this month by the Diocese of Shrewsbury, along with Telford & Wrekin Council and the Education Funding Agency. The agreements mean that Blessed Robert Johnson Catholic College in Wellington will close and the new Charlton School will be developed on its site."
The Rt Rev Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, said: "Holy Trinity Academy represents a new educational venture which will be firmly based on Christian faith and values and seek excellence for all its students.
Colin Hopkins, the director of education of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, said:
"Our vision is for the new academy to be a distinctively Christian and inclusive school which welcomes young people from all backgrounds, faiths and no faith."
