Willmott Dixon to build E-ACT’s Oldham Academy

E-ACT’s Oldham Academy has moved a step forward with the appointment of Willmott Dixon by Oldham Council for its ambitious Academies programme worth around £71m. The deal will see the company’s Oldham-based office construct three academies, with the first starting in September 2010.

Construction of the Academies will include E-ACT’s sponsored Academy, The Oldham Academy North, situated on the current site of Our Lady’s, Royton, and set to replace Grange School.  The programme will also see the development of two other academies in the town.

Willmott Dixon, secured under the national academies framework, will invest 40 per cent of the Academies budget within Oldham by providing local employment and training.

Anthony Dillon, managing director for Willmott Dixon in Oldham, said, “With our offices literally round the corner, we are absolutely delighted that we can play a key role in helping develop three outstanding new places to learn and develop within our own community. As one of the most successful companies in the national framework, we will also be giving Oldham the benefit of our experience in creating over £400 million of academies in recent years.”

Oldham Academy North’s Principal Colette Burgess said: “This appointment is excellent news and takes us much closer to the opening of what promises to be an outstanding Academy for Oldham.  The E-ACT Academy will offer state-of-the-art, 21^st Century facilities, from which pupils, their families and the community will all benefit.”

The Oldham Academy North will open as an E-ACT Academy in September 2010, with new building facilities scheduled to open in 2012.