4 Brand new Mill Chase Academy
New school plans move forward
Since the Army's official 'Farewell to the Garrison' festival in
Whitehill & Bordon in June 2015, the regeneration of the town
into an exciting place of new opportunity is starting to
become a reality.
The proposals include a brand new secondary school campus
for Mill Chase Academy at Budds Lane near the new town
centre and, on Saturday, 24th October, almost 500 residents
attended a public exhibition and community event at MCA to
see the latest plans and give their views.
The event was organised by the Whitehill & Bordon
Regeneration Company (WBRC) which is working with
Hampshire County Council, the town's existing schools and
the University of Chichester Academy Trust to discuss future
pre-school, primary and secondary education facilities.
In the meantime, WBRC is also developing a number of
initiatives with Mill Chase Academy, including plans to use
the base at Prince Philip Barracks as a venue for sport, drama,
the performing arts, assemblies and activities linked to the
curriculum; and identifying regular extra-curricular activities
for students and their parents.
Mill Chase Academy students have also enjoyed hands-on
workshop sessions with the architects and planners, and 3D
models of buildings designed by Year 9 were displayed at the
public exhibition. The students were challenged to design
three- and four-storey town houses for the new development,
creating sketches for the front elevation on a scale of 1:50 and
aiming to be as creative as possible.
The new secondary school is planned to be open by 2019
while the 'Future Skills Centre', a new vocational skills training
centre for post-16 students and adults, will be taking its first
students in the spring of 2017.
The opening of the Centre coincides with the University of
Chichester's launch of its first higher and degree
apprenticeships in 2016/17 and the University has confirmed
its interest in identifying ways to support Hampshire County
Council and the Further Education delivery partners to
incorporate Higher Education opportunities where it will add
value.
Mill Chase Academy pupils
working with architects