New home joy at Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children

Published: 7 October, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

IT was all smiles at Frank Barnes school this week – as pupils and teachers celebrated their new home.

The Jubilee Waterside centre in Camley Street, King’s Cross, which has been empty for five years since it was forced to close due to cash problems, has been given a £1million re-fit to accommodate the award-winning school for deaf children. 

Pupils will enjoy the renovated sports centre for three years while a purpose-built school is built in the King’s Cross Railway Lands development.

The move is a huge relief for the specialist school, which faced closure to make way for the borough’s first academy on its former Swiss Cottage site.

On Friday, delighted staff and pupils held a party to show off the temporary home they helped to design.

Headteacher Karen Simpson said: “The new location has exceeded our expectations. We are grateful for all the hard work of the architects and it was great to be able to be so involved in the re-fit.

“When we asked the children what they wanted, they said they wanted a brilliant staffroom for their teachers because we work so hard! 

“There’s no doubt that we’ll be happy here, and now we can look forward to our permanent building. 

“This whole process has actually been helpful as a learning process for us. Being able to be so involved in the design of the re-fit will help us plan the design of the new school.”

During Friday’s celebrations, excited pupils cut a giant cake before parents were given a guided tour of the building. Polly Burton, whose two daughters Isabella, seven, and Rosa, two, have been pupils at Frank Barnes, said it had been a “difficult time” for parents, but added that she was “amazed” with the new premises.  

“We had to fight really hard to keep the school going but there’s so much passion for it,” she said. “The school has meant so much to us – we knew nothing about deafness when we found out about Isabella, but we were really looked after here. 

“The staff here are amazing and you have incredible support.”

Ms Burton added that she misses the special relationship she had with her eldest daughter Isabella’s teachers, since the seven-year-old, who is profoundly deaf, left to go to a mainstream school in July.

“Now I just have to wave her off and let her go,” she said. “But Frank Barnes gave her such a brilliant start. 

“It’s given her a really strong foundation to her education. She’s really proud of who she is and being deaf. 

“She’s taken all the positive things with her.”

Camden Mayor Jonathan Simpson said: “It hasn’t been the easiest of times for everyone but this temporary school is beautiful, and we can look forward to a bright future in King’s Cross.”