Popular author and ex-school inspector Gervase Phinn spent a day at the new Saltburn Learning Campus leading writing workshops before officially opening the £15m building.
His visit marked the completion of the super campus, now home to almost 1,000 pupils, from primary children at Saltburn Primary to secondary students at Huntcliff School. Mr Phinn said: "I am very impressed with what I have seen. The school is cheerful, welcoming and all this has a massive effect on learning. It's an outstanding environment and thoughtfully designed, very modern and will serve the area well for generations to come."
His visit marked the completion of the super campus, now home to almost 1,000 pupils, from primary children at Saltburn Primary to secondary students at Huntcliff School. Mr Phinn said: "I am very impressed with what I have seen. The school is cheerful, welcoming and all this has a massive effect on learning. It's an outstanding environment and thoughtfully designed, very modern and will serve the area well for generations to come."
The 500 Huntcliff students saw their new facilities develop on the same site over 15 months before moving in September last year, with all their major requests met - wide corridors, light, airy classrooms, all equipped with interactive white boards and computers.
Headteacher of Huntcliff School Ruth Mayes said: "We moved out of a 50-year-old school in July 2008. We've entered an exciting new era with school buildings fit for the 21st Century and are already feeling the benefit of the superb open spaces and access to ICT."
The 420 primary school pupils crossed the road this September to start lessons in the new building which links the primary school and its 39-place nursery with Huntcliff School and a children's centre with 40 daycare places.
The official opening ceremony saw Gervase Phinn unveil a foundation stone before completing a book-signing session. Mr Phinn then entertained an audience with anecdotes about his work at an evening performance.
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Inspector-turned-bestselling author Gervase Phinn has forecast that village schools in North Yorkshire will survive if good enough.
The Yorkshireman, who spent years inspecting the county’s schools until retiring for a more lucrative career writing and public speaking, told a colleague when officially opening Saltburn’s new learning campus: “If village schools are vibrant and have good leadership, they will survive. I’m very much in favour of them.”
He recalled at least one instance of a threatened North Yorkshire village school which had remained open by demonstrating it was a fundamentally sound establishment.
Asked if independent schools were better, he said: “You can’t generalise.”
Mr Phinn, ruddy cheeked and casually dressed, put in a full day at Huntcliff School and its primary on the campus, arriving before 10am from his home near Doncaster.
He didn’t leave until late at night.
His Evening with Gervase Phinn went well, according to some of the 200 who paid £14 each to hear his amusing and serious stories. Among them was his advice to the 1,000 pupils that reading “books, books, books” was the best advice he could offer.
He did a brisk sale in his own books. And why not?
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