Volunteers help spruce up ARK Elvin Academy

Monday 1st September 2014

ARK Elvin Academy in Wembley has received a much-needed facelift before term starts in September. The academy, on Cecil Avenue, was previously Copland Community School before it joined the ARK family of academies this week and was renamed in honour of local First World War hero, Arthur Elvin. To aid this transition, the school is being given a fresh new look with the support of Brent Council, over 130 volunteers, and a generous paint donation from the Dulux Let’s Colour project.

To mark a new chapter in the school’s history, the volunteers – including  teachers and staff from the school, staff from ARK central office and companies such as Eversheds, Bouygues and Hewlett Packard – got to work over the summer holidays, cleaning up the school grounds and giving it a fresh coat of paint. The vital works have been carried out in partnership with Brent Council and the project was also given invaluable help from Steve Perry, who runs Burlington Home Interiors, a blind and shutter company.

The team painted the academy’s new logo in the main courtyard, which is made up of a purple torch bearing the letters ‘AEA’ with a yellow flame forming the shape of a lion’s head. They then used the leftover purple paint to paint all classroom doors and radiators to match the academy’s new logo as well as repairs and decoration to the music rooms.

The paint was kindly donated by the Dulux Decorator Centre on Richford Street, Hammersmith, as part of the Let’s Colour mission to add colour to people’s lives.

Annabel Bates, the principal of ARK Elvin Academy, said:

I want to thank everyone who gave their time over the summer to help improve the look and feel of our school. This will give a real boost to pupils and staff as they come back from their holidays and begin the new term.

“The paint Dulux donated has helped us to give the building a new lease of life, to commemorate the start of a new chapter for staff and pupils. I would also like to thank Brent Council for its valuable support. This is all part of our plan to improve our local school – we will now be focusing on transforming standards of learning for all pupils.

Nicki Lewington, Dulux Decorator Centre store manager, said:

“Volunteers at ARK Elvin Academy have helped to make the transition as smooth as possible, by totally revamping the building. We hope the pupils really enjoy walking into the new-look school after their summer holidays and are inspired to make a fresh start with their learning.”

Copland Community School fell into disrepair in recent years, and a Year 8 student, Khadija, petitioned the Prime Minister, David Cameron to fund a repairs programme. She recorded a news bulletin for BBC School Report on it:

 

With support from ARK and the Department for Education, the school will be completely rebuilt in 2016, with the addition of a purpose built sixth form, as part of the Priority School Buildings Programme.

To find out further information on the Let’s Colour Project, or to apply, visit www.letscolour.co.uk