Unity Academy's first ever Open Day is a huge success!

Unity Academy’s first ever Open Day is a huge success!

Saturday 11^th October saw the official opening of Unity Academy when we opened our doors to the public who were invited to view the fantastic new facilities on offer, following over £9.5 million of investment. Over 500 visitors were greeted by Unity staff and over 150 existing students, who gave up their Saturday to make the day as successful as possible.

Guest of honour Jimmy Armfield CBE, former England captain and Blackpool FC legend, unveiled a plaque to commemorate the official opening and commented on what a privilege it was to open Unity Academy.

Reflecting on Unity’s all through system he said, ”It’s a brilliant way in which children can start really young, and carry on into higher years within the same school and in the same environment.”

He said: “Back when everyone wore waistcoats, they were always a struggle to button up, but once you got that bottom button in, the rest were easy. Unity Academy is like getting that bottom button right.

“When you begin here at a young age, it’s like the first button of the waistcoat going in, and so the rest of the buttons as you progress through the school years are easy, from nursery all the way through to secondary”

Unity Academy Principal Chris Lickiss said, “It was a huge honour to welcome Jimmy Armfield to Unity Academy. I was delighted to see that he was impressed with what he saw whilst he was here”

Other special guests within the official opening party included Felicity Greeves (Principal of Blackpool Sixth Form College and FCAT Director), Mark Gutteridge (Chair of Academy Council) and John Boyle (FCAT Director).

As well as having access to view the entire Academy, including the Children’s Centre, primary and secondary, there were plenty of activities for visitors of all ages to take part in. These included sporting challenges in PE, using a 3D printer, eating in a French Café and designing rock labels in IT. Younger visitors also had fun on the bouncy castles or with face painting. With free refreshments and hot dogs, the academy filled not just their minds!

A selection of pictures taken on the day can be seen below !

For the Blackpool Evening Gazette's article on this event, please click here.