Sandwell Council welcomed completion of the new Shireland Technology Primary School in Waterloo Road, Smethwick on 14 August 2020, which will open to pupils this September.

Funded through the government’s free school capital programme at a cost of £7m, the school provides a high-tech learning environment for its pupils and has been handed over to the Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust. Lady Kirsty Grundy, principal at Smethwick Technology Primary, said:

“We are so proud to have finally, the most phenomenal school building for the children and families of Smethwick and Bearwood. Our aim to blend the best of tradition and academic rigour, with the state of the art technology and digital skills, is manifested in a truly impressive, purpose built school for staff and children to excel in.

"We sincerely thank Speller Metcalfe and Sandwell for their support in helping us build a school for the future and future generations.”

Despite the impact of Covid-19 which led to construction of the school being halted for four weeks, the council was pleased that following the publication of government construction guidance, the constructor, Speller Metcalfe immediately pulled together a Recovery Plan to ensure it could re-start the school building within two weeks.

The plan ensured the school completed on time to open in September. Speller Metcalfe completed the school two weeks ahead of its original planned date. Rob Lashford, regional director at Speller Metcalfe, said:

“We are delighted to be able to hand over Shireland Technology Primary School two weeks ahead of schedule, particularly in light of the challenges faced by COVID-19.

“At the start of lockdown, we temporarily paused all of our site operations to ensure we could individually risk assess each project and put enhanced safety measures in place, giving our workforce the confidence that they could return to work in a safe environment.

"Each sub-contractor truly bought into working within these new parameters - which at times were very challenging - but overall their positive attitude and the successful management by the Speller Metcalfe team enabled an early and successful handover of the school.”

Shireland Technology will operate as a mainstream primary school, specialising in Information Technology for 420 children aged 5-11, and operate a 26 place Nursery. 

The new school provides a number of innovative design features including a roof top play area and an Immersive Room, where children can experience different worlds and times through surround projection.

The primary school joins a group of new and existing schools sponsored by the Collegiate Academy Trust, including Shireland Collegiate Academy, rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted and the newly-opened West Bromwich Collegiate Academy.