A £1.7m new Mathematics and Information Communication Technology block is to be officially opened at Medina High School in Newport.

The brand new facility will see the completion of an Isle of Wight Council funded multi-million pound three year project that has also seen the construction of a state-of-the-art science block  which was officially opened last month.

Isle of Wight Council Chief Executive Steve Beynon said

“I am very impressed with the new facilities at Medina High School. The overall project began in late 2007 and has been finished on time and within the set budget.

The environmentally-friendly aspects of the buildings will also support our Eco-Island vision and the Island as a whole can be proud of these new facilities”.

The building is at the forefront of ‘green technology’, and includes a number of eco-friendly features. This includes natural ventilation using windcatcher technology, sunpipes to increase natural light, sunshields to reduce overheating within the building, and clear corridor windows, reducing the demand for artificial light.

The most significant contribution comes from underground, where a unique heating system has been installed. In what is the first for an education building on the Island, under-floor heating pipes and a heating pump have been installed that uses natural warmth and distributes it around the building. This reduces the need to use heaters and will result in an estimated saving of over £2000 per year on energy bills.

Isle of Wight Council Cabinet member for Children and Young People Cllr Alan Wells said

“The green technology used on the new facilities will also serve as a learning tool for students so they can explore more about being energy efficient and sustainability issues.

The opening of the new block, including the science facilities, shows Isle of Wight Council is committed to providing state of the art facilities to our students as part of our pledge to improve educational standards”

Medina High School Head Teacher Richard Williams said

“The new facilities are 21st century in design and have transformed the learning environment for these two curriculum areas. The development of the school’s virtual learning environment will integrate neatly and will allow students to access works completed in the classroom anywhere around the world.

The whole three year project has been a success and we are very fortunate to have such top class facilities at our disposal.”

An official opening ceremony and cutting of the ribbon will take place at 2.30pm on Friday 12th September inside the new Maths and ICT block.