MP OPENS NEW DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE AT JOHN RUSKIN SCHOOL CONISTON

Local MP Tim Farron joined staff and students at John Ruskin School in Coniston to formally open the school's new design and technology centre.

That the centre has come about is thanks to the imagination of the school's Head, Jonathan Longstaffe. A disused garage attached to an existing workshop was converted into a centre for state of the art design work.

Speaking after the opening, Mr Farron said, "The governors, staff and especially the Head, deserve enormous credit for creating this new facility which will make John Ruskin School an even more attractive choice for local parents and pupils. A completely new building could have taken years - and hundreds of thousands of pounds - to build. Instead Mr Longstaffe and his team, including Chair of Governors Kay Shepherd, used their initiative to convert an existing building. That's just the kind of 'can-do' spirit that we need!"

The design centre is attached to a practical workshop that allows students to move between the planning and practical stages without leaving the building!