Heathfield primary opens its own school doors for the first time

The latest of Croydon’s brand new schools, Heathfield Academy in Aberdeen Road, Croydon, is now open for business.

Croydon Council has handed over the newly completed £10 million building to Step Academy Trust as part of its programme of building and expanding schools to meet growing demand for school places.

“This beautiful new school is a brilliant addition to Croydon’s ever-growing number of places where parents can choose to send their children. Croydon has invested hugely in ensuring every child has a place, and as a result every parent who applies on time is assured of getting an offer.”

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, young people and learning

The new school admits up to 60 pupils each year, and already has 97 children enrolled after spending two years in temporary accommodation while building work was completed.

Once at capacity as many as 420 pupils will be taught at Heathfield in its 14 classrooms. The school also has two halls, an ICT suite, library, and a learning deck on the roof, as well as small group rooms and a therapy space to support children with special educational needs.

Heathfield has two head teachers sharing responsibility for leading the school, Lana-Lea O’Keefe and Rachael Atkinson.

Lana-Lea O’Keefe said: “It’s so good to now be settled in, and the children are all loving the new building. Willmott-Dixon have done a really great job getting the building ready, and we are well ahead of schedule to get the outside play areas finished before Christmas. Our new team are also a huge asset, and every member of staff knows how important their role is in ensuring that our children have an excellent education. We are doing our best to create a family environment – so, for example, we do family dining at lunch time where staff and children sit at round tables, serving each other and giving children further opportunities to develop their social skills.”

2021-11-15T15:29:24+00:00 September 15th, 2017|Recent news|