A £132,000 REFURBISHMENT project to improve the façade at St Antony’s Catholic Secondary School in Urmston is complete.

The work, which is part of an ongoing ‘transformation’ project, saw architectural and planning consultancy practice, Cassidy + Ashton, create a new school entrance for the building.

Education bosses say this is a very visible indicator of the school’s ambition to build on its reputation and academic achievements.

St Antony’s business development manager, Christine Ellis, said: “We have a new leadership team in place now and improvements to the physical learning environment here will reflect the plans we have to enhance standards, sending out a clear message to the community that St Antony’s is a school that aspires to bigger and better things.”

Using composite coloured cladding in the school’s colours of red, blue and cream the Cassidy + Ashton-designed project has transformed the school’s concrete, wood and steel exterior into a vibrant and contemporary façade, with vertical strips of colour and curved shapes to add interest and profile. The scheme also included stripping out the existing corroded steel and rotted wood, along with the replacement of all windows.

St Antony’s, the only Salford Diocese Catholic high school in Trafford, has had a number of building improvements to the rear of the school, also delivered by Cassidy + Ashton.