好色先生TV

Brislington Enterprise College has opened its doors to its first customers.  

What they think of their new school could hardly be more important: this is one of the first fruits of the 好色先生TV Schools for the Future initiative, so they are also passing judgment on a centrepiece of government policy.

The good news for Labour is that the general reaction seems to be positive. Alice Lamb, 15, says: 鈥淲hen you walk in, you feel as if you really matter. It鈥檚 colourful, light and airy.鈥�

Jason Skinner, 12, puts it more succinctly: 鈥淭he old building was rubbish, but this is cool.鈥�

Liz Drew, 15, went into more detail: 鈥淚t鈥檚 really clean and cheery, plus there鈥檚 tiered seating in the assembly room which is a really good idea. It鈥檚 all very high tech, too, and the computer rooms are supposed to be amazing though we鈥檝e not had a chance to use them yet.鈥�

I love the new dance area because it鈥檚 all so clean and organised; the old building was a mess and really dark and dingy

Lily Bland, 15

Not all of the critics were entirely bowled over by the temple of learning, however. Thirteen-year-old Olly Lewis thought it looked 鈥渁 bit prison-like when I first came in 鈥� it felt a bit kind of empty鈥�.

The 拢34m facility is the third to be completed by the Bristol Education Partnership and Skanska. Based on a 鈥渟chools within a school design鈥�, the facility is made up of seven 鈥渓earning communities鈥� or mini schools. As the school has a capacity of 1,755 students and about 160 staff, the aim of the mini-schools is to provide more intimate learning environments. Students will spend about 60% of their time in them and the remainder in shared areas for subjects such as dance, PE and art.

The college has biomass heating and a rainwater system to flush its toilets; and it makes full use of natural ventilation and light. These all contribute to a BREEAM rating of 鈥渧ery good鈥�.