Final phase complete for SFX College’s £7.6m buildings

SFX College has opened several new buildings following a multi-million pound investment funded by Liverpool city council.

The £7.6 million development, which comprises a new science block, sports complex and music suite as well as the refurbishment of existing buildings, has been completed in several phases.

It is part of a £169 million scheme which is seeing 17 new and refurbished schools funded through a mix of investment from the Government and contributions from the council.

The school’s new specialist science block, which was completed in September, spans three floors dedicated to chemistry, biology and physics and houses two 90 sqm high-specification labs on each floor. The block has been named “Lemaitre” in honour of a Belgian priest and scientist. The science department is well equipped to deliver up to A-level in each discipline.

The final phase of the work has now been completed, as a new school entrance and hi-tech music suites in the Nugent building have both been revealed.

For the first time in the school’s history, students now enter the site via Woolton Hill Road instead of the original entrance on Beaconsfield Road, a change which was designed to improve the school’s safety and security.

The brand new music suite in the Nugent building comprises two specialist, fully equipped classrooms, four practice rooms, a dedicated rehearsal room and a recording studio.

Finally, students now have a much anticipated sports complex. The final piece of the jigsaw for SFX College, this impressive building, which has been designed so that sports can be played at club and regional level, offers facilities for five-a-side football, badminton, volley ball, netball, indoor cricket and athletics. The building is equipped with an electronic scoreboard and Wi-Fi connected to a plasma screen.

To complement the sports hall, the school also boasts a covered and floodlit multi-use games area (MUGA) as well as 26 acres of playing fields including a cricket square, four football pitches, a practice rugby pitch and access to a squash club on site. DDA-compliant changing and hygiene rooms, together with a fitness suite, are also available at the sports complex.

SFX students collaborated with architects to have their say on the design of the new buildings, choosing the colour scheme, name and even the layout of the toilets!

Les Rippon, headteacher at St Francis Xavier’s College, says “I am so pleased that the building project is finally finished and the students can begin to benefit from the school’s outstanding new facilities.

“This modernisation of the school means that for the first time our facilities will match our quality of the education we provide, and staff and students will be able to get the most of their learning environment.”