Member Article

Studio school preparing student for the world of work opens in Newcastle

Studio West in West Denton opens today as a new school concept allowing students to get a taste of the world of work with year-round opening and longer working day.

The new ‘enterprise and entrepreneurial’ Studio West is one of 13 specialist schools developed by the Studio School’s Trust, Department for Education (DfE).

Studio Schools are closely aligned to the world of work. They aim to feel more like a workplace than a school and focus on developing the key employability and life skills for students aged 14 to 19 years old.

Working in partnership with businesses such as Accenture, Aspire Technology Solutions, the Theatre Royal, Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd and Newcastle City Council, the school has capacity for 310 students who will learn in both classroom and work-based environments.

More than 50% of the curriculum will be practical, work-based projects, created in conjunction with the real partner companies it is working with.

The Education Team at leading commercial law firm, Muckle LLP, advised on all legal aspects of establishing Kenton Schools Academy Trust, which is a multi academy trust.

Val Wigham, Principal Designate of Studio West, said: “Opening a new school is a massive undertaking, so knowing that Muckle were constantly on hand to deal with all legal aspects gave me the confidence to forge ahead and not to worry about those aspects. The team at Muckle was a natural choice for us, having worked with them in 2012 on the conversion of Kenton School to an academy.”

Tony McPhillips at Muckle said: “This is a very exciting time in education as vocational schools such as Studio West are part of the Government’s long-term economic plan to get young people better prepared for working life after school”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .