Walney School

Story

Walney School is a secondary school on Walney Island in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.As a result of the Education Act 1944, Walney Island needed to have its own secondary school. The present Sandy Gap site was agreed in 1951 and the school built.Lord Cavendish opened the school's new Sensory Garden in 2003.At GCSE and GNVQ, the school is ranked 33rd out of the forty-seven secondary schools in Cumbria. It has no Sixth Form, so does not teach at 'A'-level.Walney School achieved Specialist Engineering Status in 2009.Walney School was the victim of an arson attack in April 2008. The school then of 600 pupils was shut for a week and an investigation was pursued.The fire was only confined to one classroom but caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.The petrol bomb was thrown between 6.00 and 7.00am so no pupils were injured.In Winter 2010 Walney School began to expand the school, by building a £6m redevelopment and extension.It will has 10 new classrooms, two music rooms, two art rooms and an additional science block.The single storey classrooms also have a Sedam turf roof, with plants growing on top to have an environmental and visual appeal.The work was meant to be undertaken in five phases, taking 65 weeks, for completion in August,the next year but due to bad weather was finally completed in summer 2012. Although to go along with the Specialist Engineering Status the £300,000 engineering innovation centre was built and completed in September 2011.