A multi-million pound makeover has given a Sheffield special school the accommodation it needs to set its students on the path to independence.

Bents Green School has recently been overhauled to the tune of £13 million as part of the city's ambitious Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme - aimed at rebuilding or refurbishing the majority of the city's secondary schools.

From the outset staff at the school had a say in how the school would be remodelled as part of Sheffield’s LEP (Local Education Partnership), which includes Sheffield City Council and VINCI Construction UK.

Work was completed on time and on budget and the new-look school, on Ringlinglow Road, has been operational since Easter.

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Keith Shivers, Regional Director for VINCI Construction UK, which was in charge of the rebuild, said: "The timely completion of the new school at Bents Green by VINCI Construction UK is again testimony to the success of the unique partnership that we have with the Sheffield Local Education Partnership, the City Council, Civica and of course our supply chain.

"Bents Green School is the latest in a long line of schools in the city which we have helped to rebuild. Children should be able to have a great school to be able to learn in and it makes me very proud to know that our company is a fundamental member of the partnership that has been at the forefront of helping to achieve this aim here."

Bents Green, a school for young people with complex communication difficulties, has been given an outstanding rating by Ofsted.

The project, which took 17 months to complete, involved the partial demolition of the school, and the construction of a brand new three storey building. Two further buildings, a three storey residential block dating back to 1740, and the two storey sixth form building, were completely updated and refurbished.

The construction has also seen the redevelopment of outside spaces and a new access road to improve facilities for deliveries.

(CD)