Ambitious plans to expand Wordsley School have been fulfilled as new facilities were officially unveiled on Friday.

The £6 million project saw the creation of a new Sports Hall, Library and additional classroom facilities. The project which also includes redevelopment works to other areas of the school has been designed by Dudley Council.

As a result of the new construction work, the school’s existing tennis court area has been replaced with a two-storey facility of 10 classrooms, a spacious Library area with “Quiet Room” and improved Sports Hall facility for both the school’s pupils and the wider community through lettings and the popular Learning4Life programme.

The “New Build” features modern heating, lighting and ventilation systems to ensure excellent energy efficiency is maintained. This project has been welcomed by the local community with the Wordsley area seeing an increase in provision of housing development over the past year.

The opening of this facility is a key milestone for The Wordsley School, ensuring that all children have access to the best possible schools and facilities and this is just one part of the school’s commitment to helping young people to be the best they can be. The expansion project not only means improved facilities but will also caters to the area’s growing population, with the school gradually expanding its intake to welcome more pupils through its doors.

The site was officially opened by the former head and deputy Mike and Maggie Lambert and former pupil, rising literary star Vee Kativhu who has a bachelor's degree from Oxford and a Master's from Harvard. Gareth Burton, Headteacher of The Wordsley School, said:

"We feel very fortunate to have acquired such funding to enable children and families within and beyond The Wordsley area access to such excellent facilities.

"This is a great day for the pupils and staff at The Wordsley School who have seen the construction and redevelopment across the school at various phases of the project until completion in the Summer of 2021, to now benefit from these enhancements which will raise the aspirations of generations of pupils to come.

"It was wonderful to welcome Mike Lambert and Maggie Lambert our former Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher, back to the school to open the facilities.

"Mike and Maggie led the school for such a long period of time and their energy and dynamism over many years, led to the successful bid and construction of our new facilities."

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people added: "This project has been several years in the making and came about as we saw the need to expand our secondary school provision in this part of the borough.

"Admission numbers have been consistently high for Wordsley and it seemed a natural fit for Wordsley School to provide these places and simultaneously improve its offer."

The new buildings will provide students with more modern, inspiring learning environments and top-notch facilities and be an additional asset for the community who hire its facilities and access learning and self-improvement through Learning4Life.