Academy is taking shape on site of former rugby ground

The Boulevard Academy, an £8.2m secondary school being built on the site of Hull FC’s former rugby ground in the west of the city, is due to open in September and will pass a key phase in its construction when the roof goes on in two weeks.

Off-site preparations are also continuing apace, with new principal Andy Grace operating from a local community centre since beginning work last Monday.

“Things are happening really quickly now,” said Carol White, one of three trustees at The Boulevard Academy Trust, which is delivering the school.

“We are starting to believe this will really happen. The local community is really excited; they wanted a local school and it’s happening.”

The school, which will eventually cater for up to 600 pupils, will begin by admitting Year Seven pupils with capacity for 120 in its first year.

The academy will operate outside local authority control and offer a challenging educational environment for its pupils, who will wear a black and white uniform in honour of the rugby club with which it is associated.

The Friends of Hull FC have also helped design a memorial garden paying homage to the site’s sporting past.

It was initially intended that the school would teach an English Baccalaureate, but as pupils will not be sitting exams until 2016/17, Ms White said the qualification would be whatever was the “gold standard” at the time.