3 Jul 2004

The new 1,350-place Cantell School in Southampton was officially opened on Thursday 1st July 2004 with a ribbon cutting ceremony by 50 of its pupils.

The event was a celebration to mark both the completion of the new buildings in January 2004 as well as the achievement of specialist status as a maths and computing college.

Beginning in late afternoon the event included a show of music and dance performances by its pupils from all year groups as well as numerous class work displays around the school, giving the guests a chance to see the curriculum in action. The ceremony saw 50 pupils, each one representing his or her tutor group, simultaneously cutting the ribbon to a fanfare accompaniment and a balloon release. The head boy and girl then completed the event by unveiling the commemorative plaque.

The event was attended by pupils, parents and Interserve staff as well as a number of VIPs, including Southampton City Council representatives Ian Sandbrook, Executive Director for Lifelong Learning & Leisure and Calvin Horner, Cabinet member.

The school opened its doors to pupils at the start of the academic year in September 2003, and is being delivered by an integrated Interserve company. Interserve Project Services Ltd were responsible for design and construction and Interserve Education are responsible for facilities management at the school for the duration of the 28 year contract which began at Financial Close in 2002.

This is the second of the three schools included in the project to hold its official opening, Redbridge Community School opened in July 2003 and Woodlands Community School is expected to hold its ceremony in September this year.

To read the case study for this project click here