Pupils on move to new building

IT is the end of an era as pupils swap a former comprehensive for a new £16.8 million school.

The pupils have finished for Easter at Oldham Academy North, Rochdale Road, ahead of the move to the new building in Royton after the holidays.

The academy replaced Grange School, which opened in 1967 — the year after Oldham took the controversial step of going comprehensive.

Grange was originally organised on a horizontal principal with the lower, middle and upper schools having separate premises with their own head teachers.

There was also a self-contained sixth-form to help the transition between traditional lessons and the less formal study of higher education.

The opening of Oldham Academy North in September, 2010, was also controversial as it was one of three academies run by sponsors which replaced five Oldham schools.

The new building in Broadway, Royton, opens on April 17. It includes an agora — ancient Greek for gathering place —which can seat 600 and is overlooked by two balconies. There are also extensive indoor and outdoor sports facilities.