Topic Projects
Date 23 Sep 2022
Galliford Try’s Building West Midlands team celebrated the ground-breaking of the new Shireland City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) Academy in West Bromwich, the first-ever school-orchestra partnership in Britain.
Joining the project team were dignitaries including Sir Mark Grundy, Chief Executive of Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust; Mr David Green, Principal Designate of Shireland CBSO Academy; Stephen Maddock OBE, Chief Executive of CBSO, and talented violinists from the CBSO who provided a musical accompaniment to mark the first shovel into the ground.
Funded by the Department for Education (DfE) the school is the first state school to collaborate with an orchestra in Britain and marks a radical new approach to music education that innovatively addresses the decline in the role of the creative arts in many schools.
As a refurbishment of an existing office block, the new school will accommodate 870 students aged 11-18 along with a new school sports hall and court located on Sandwell Road about 100m away from the main Shireland CBSO Academy.
This partnership will ensure that young people from diverse backgrounds across the West Midlands can achieve musical excellence and have access to opportunities that will benefit the students for years to come.
Stephen Maddock OBE, Chief Executive of CBSO, said: “We are delighted to see this exciting new school come a step closer now the building work is beginning. The site is excellent, and together with our colleagues at the Shireland Trust, we are committed to making a real difference in the lives of thousands of children and young people, giving them access to world-class musical opportunities whatever their background. This new Academy will form an exciting centrepiece of the CBSO’s huge learning, participation and talent development programmes.”
Sir Mark Grundy, Chief Executive of Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, said: “As a Trust we are hugely proud to be asked to develop a new type of Free School and feel privileged to be creating a School with a curriculum focussed around Music in collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The Arts enrich our young peoples’ lives in so many ways and the opportunity to create a school which nurtures the musical ability of the students in our locality is an honour. The partnership that is emerging between our Trust, the CBSO and Sandwell Local Authority is unique.”
Simon Courtney, Managing Director for Galliford Try West Midlands and South West, said: “It is an incredible opportunity to be a part of this history-making project by building the first school of its kind in Britain, and in the same region where we built the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
“We look forward to providing the highest quality facilities for students and teachers that will not only provide a great working space for the school, but will also make a significant addition to the surrounding community of music lovers in the West Midlands.”