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Education Village
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In a few weeks time our new Education Village will open. This is the culmination of a six-year dream of bringing three schools together under the one roof - Springfield Primary School, Beaumont Hill Special School and Haughton Community School.
We should feel rightly proud that this Village is based here in Haughton. The buildings are tasteful and impressive. They greatly enhance our part of town.
The children and young people who go to school here will surely feel that it is a privilege to be educated in such a setting. Forethought and good planning cry out everywhere you look. It is not simply that the school has fantastic sports facilities or the best technology. The design ensures that children can feel safe in the special areas that are for them. At the same time the total plan has a unity that will help them to feel that they belong to something larger.
The Village has an ambitious vision. It aims to include all children and also to pursue excellence. Critics argue that this is a case of trying to have your cake and eat it. But if this combination can be made to work anywhere it must be in a setting such as this. And what is at stake is more than simply our children's education. The Village is trying to embody the kind of society that we would like to live in.
Critical to the success of this enterprise is the leadership of the Village. Dame Dela Smith was recently appointed as the Executive Director. She has already begun the work of assembling a strong team of people to ensure that the Education Village fulfils its hopes and aspirations.
Without doubt the impact of this development upon the communities of Haughton and neighbouring areas of Darlington will be enormous. Our best wishes and prayers are with every part of this Village. In fact we will often pray in the Village itself with children and staff in the special Sacred Space.
Revd Dr David Bryan
(David is vice-chair of the Village's Governing Body, and coordinates a chaplaincy to the Village).
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