Brighter Future for Young Girls

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker officially opened state-of-the-art buildings at Reading Girls' School and Kendrick School on Tuesday October 21st.

Mr. Coaker visited Reading Girls' School in Northumberland Avenue, Whitley, where he opened a £5.5 million post-16 learning centre. The centre will provide facilities for young Mums who want to return to education with an on-site nursery for children. It also provides purpose-built hair and beauty salons for girls who want to achieve vocational qualifications such as hairdressing or leisure or tourism. Thames Valley University will run the courses at the centre, which was funded by Reading Borough Council and the Learning and Skills Council.

Mr. Coaker also opened the new Sixth Form Block at Kendrick School as well as its new Faraday Building for Sixth Form students. The £3.15 million Sixth Form block at the London Road school was developed as part of the Kendrick Federation that was formed between Kendrick and Reading Girls' Schools in 2007. It was built using £2.3 million funding from central government and the balance from the borough council's capital programme. It provides a common room and library for students. The new block means that the school can also increase its Sixth Form by 50 pupils and provide better learning resources.

The £1.2 million Faraday Building is an extension to the main school building. It features laboratories for Sixth Form students and was funded by £150,000 raised by the school, while the rest was funded by government and the council's capital programme.

Mr Coaker said, "The important thing the people of Reading will want to know is that standards are improving and that young people, whatever their background, whatever their ability, will achieve the very best they can. It's obvious that the council has improvd standards across the board. I think Reading has demonstrated that, in the federation of those two schools, to the rest of the country."

Marsha Elms, Executive Head of the Kendrick Federation, said, "We are thrilled to be leading an initiative which will serve the women of all abilities across Reading."

Viv Angus, Headteacher of Reading Girls' School, said, "It is indeed an innovative project which I am confident will greatly enhance opportunities for girls."

Jon Hartley, lead councillor for education and life-long learning, added, "These superb new facilities show the real benefits to both schools of being in a federation. Everybody involved should be proud to have been able to make these ambitious projects a reality."

Source: Reading Post lherbert@reading-epost.co.uk


It gives me great pleasure to post about this - not least because my daughter was educated at Kendrick School before going on to study Classics at Leeds University and much later to teach English in Vietnam, where she set up a charity in Ho Chi Minh City in memory of her father (my husband) which, for seven years now, has trained disadvantaged young people in hairdressing - see http://www.vuonlen.org.uk .