New state-of-the-art facilities open at North Chadderton School

Children and young people in Chadderton and surrounding areas are benefitting from fantastic new facilities

Education officials, Council officers and councillors gathered to celebrate the opening of the new space which includes the new Trevor Brown Library. The opening ribbon was cut by Trevor Brown himself who retired after working for the school for over 43 years as the much-loved school Librarian.

The new facilities comprise of a bistro, library, sports pavilion and a stateof-the-art science block with six fully serviced specialist science laboratories. All have been designed to ensure a quality learning environment that meets the requirements of the next generation of students.

Cllr Mohon Ali, Oldham Council Cabinet Member for Education and Skills said: “I’m thrilled to see this fantastic state of the art facilities finally opened and ready to be used by North Chadderton students.

“Children and young people in Oldham

Inspiring mum rewarded in King’s Birthday Honours

A Chadderton mum who founded a charity to help widows has been recognised in the King’s first Birthday Honours list.

Oyovwe Sagbodje Kigho, 48, has received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for her commitment to helping bereaved through the Widows Empowerment Trust.

After first starting a community support group, Oyovwe saw multiple friends lose their husbands. When one of her friends became a young widow in 2016, Oyovwe said she needed to take a “bold step”, and set up the charity to help others in similar situations.

The trust today runs support groups, activity sessions, a telephone befriending service, and days out.

While appreciating the award, Oyovwe said the real benefit is that the publicity helps her to raise awareness of the charity. She said: “I want people to know where to go.”

To get help, become a volunteer or find out more, head to the website at www.widowsempowerment.com deserve the very best start in life and by investing in our schools we can help make that happen. I know that the impact of these new facilities on the outcomes for the North Chadderton Community will be felt for many years to come.”

Following a tour of the new buildings, several students commented on the new additions. Inayah, who is in year seven, said: “I am really happy and thankful that we have all these different areas that have been built for our school. I think that having more science classrooms is a good idea because it gives people who don’t really like science more confidence in the subject and shows them how much fun the subject can really be.”

Eva, a year 12 student who studied GCSE PE last year, says there was a lack of space for both teachers and students in the old facilities. She said: “The new building has improved things not only for us as students but also for the wider community. We all really appreciate this and want to thank you for everything.”

The works have been fully funded by Oldham Council, that has worked successfully in close partnership with the school and the construction partner Kier.