After hearing about the decision of the Isle of Wight council and the Cowes Enterprise College (CEC) Governors to, for the third time, delay its opening, we were keen to find out the views of one of the groups directly impacted – the pupils. (Teachers are the other)
Fortunately the school has some very eloquent pupils.
We contacted one of the sixth form students and asked what CEC students’ views were of what was going on. It was originally to be included in an article we were preparing, but the reading of it was so sobering, we thought we’d reproduce it in full.
Below is the reply of a CEC student, in their own words. Underneath that is the statement issued by the council today, in the name of Stuart Love, Strategic Director of Economy and Environment.
The Sixth Form student’s words
As to the view of the students, we’re just disappointed really – we’re past anger, it’s just resentment at the council for moving us around so much and how little we’re actually told. We recognise that it isn’t the school’s fault.
When we came back on Tuesday, it was the bare essentials for the school. No library, no textbooks, no pens, no equipment (staplers became a trading currency). Chairs were missing.
Over the course of the last few days, essentials have been moved back over but we’re still running on the bare minimum of what we need to function – textbooks for some subjects still haven’t been moved yet.
All we want to do is get on with studying, and for whatever reason, this new build has become more of a hindrance than a help. Never mind that this new £30 million pound building is absolutely fantasmical – at the moment, we’re in a building that’s falling to pieces with barely enough teaching materials to be taught to a decent standard. We just want to learn.
In addition, we’re not angry at the council or the builders for missing the original deadline *by three months*, we’re angry at them for promising that it will be ready and then, twice, after everything had been moved over, saying actually no it won’t.
The words of Stuart Love, IWC Strategic Director of Economy and Environment
Stuart Love, IW Council director of economy and the environment, said: “Having seen first hand the amount of work that is required to finish off the building, I have decided, with the chairman of Governors, that the deadline of November 19 will not give staff and pupils at the school the necessary time in which to familiarise themselves with the new building.
“This magnificent new facility will provide one of the best learning environments in the whole country and a tremendous asset to the Cowes community. We owe it to all those involved in the project but most importantly those who will learn and teach there to make sure the move from the old school to the adjacent new facility is not rushed to meet an optimistic deadline.
“The delay is regrettable but understandable in the context of the size and complexity of the project and the time lost during the unusually wet summer.
“The most important thing is that the transition to the new school is safe and smooth and that pupils and staff enjoy the full and immediate benefits of all the magnificent £32 million building. When the council and the school are satisfied that this can be done, we will announce a new occupation date. We will have a better idea of this new date early next week but it will not be before December 3.
“We will continue to work with the school to ensure the old building remains fit for purpose for the time it will take to complete the transfer to the OSP.”
