Credit: This story was first seen on the Scunthorpe Telegraph
The former Lloyds Bank mortgage centre in Scunthorpe, which closed down five years ago, is set to take on a new lease of life, the Scunthorpe Telegraph reports.
The site on the town’s kingsway has been earmarked as the new home for a fee-paying private faith school. After 14 years, the Focus School at Cottingham is to relocate to Scunthorpe.
Charles Arnett, a trustee with the owners at the Northmoor Education Trust, said the move would involve the transfer of the school’s 110 pupils aged from seven to 18 and its 24 staff.
Mr Arnett said: “We are progressing towards opening in Scunthorpe in September 2017 and talks have started with contractors. We have chosen the Kingsway as it is a more centralised location for the school, which also takes in pupils from Lincoln and Grimsby.
Mr Arnett said the current two-storey building would be redesigned for classrooms and a sports hall.
He added: “Our intention is to make the new campus more open-plan than at Cottingham.”
At this stage the trust has not disclosed the cost of the relocation.
The Focus school is among many in the UK affiliated to the Plymouth Brethren Church.
The church’s national curriculae states: ‘Schools follow the national curriculum in their local region and wherever possible utilize the assessment/examination programme that accords a recognised and accredited certification. The key focus is on developing strong understanding and skills in literacy and numeracy, with each student becoming accustomed to a curriculum with rigor and flexibility that inspires intrinsic motivation.
‘Professional, qualified and trained teachers apply the curriculum to varied learning styles, especially empowering students to be self-directed in their organisational approach to learning. Continuous curriculum development and differentiation for individual student needs ensures all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
‘There is an emphasis on the student having a broad scope of opportunities, which includes the learning areas of health and physical exercise, music, product design and technology, information technology, art and foreign languages. To enable students to become lifelong learners, there is a distinct emphasis on the appreciation of values, the environmental and the personal development of high order thinking skills and self-directed learning.’