Gosport marine and maritime careers centre at Bay House School gets seal of approval from council

PLANS for a school redevelopment that will encourage students into marine and maritime careers has been given the green light for construction.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

As previously reported in The News, Bay House School in Gosport has submitted plans to the borough council to knock down five classrooms and replace them with a state-of-the-art marine and maritime careers centre, along with a new teaching space.

The five classrooms in question are ‘temporary’ sites – though have been used for more than 50 years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As part of the Gosport and Fareham Trust (GFM), the school will be running a marine careers course which has been backed by Olympic sailing gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie and British sailor Alex Thomson.

Bay House School in Gosport.

Picture: Keith WoodlandBay House School in Gosport.

Picture: Keith Woodland
Bay House School in Gosport. Picture: Keith Woodland
Read More
Gosport craft shop reopens in bigger premises after growing in popularity

Gosport Borough Council’s regulatory board, which votes on all planning applications in the town, unanimously voted in favour of the scheme.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Elson, Cllr Richard Earle, said: ‘I just want to say that this new development is going to be a great improvement for the town.

‘I recall that these old buildings are the same cabins that I was taught in back in 1973 – so I think they’ve had their day.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘I believe this replacement is going to be a major benefit to Gosport.’

The centre will be providing level three diplomas – the equivalent to three A-levels.

Outside the classrooms, the diplomas will also take advantage of the facilities at the Andrew Simpson Centre in Portsmouth, giving students practical teaching as well.

Alex Thomson, who attended Bay House School, is the patron of the GFM Marine and Maritime curriculum. He said: ‘I welcome the news that building will commence on the new Marine and Maritime Careers Centre.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘The facility will offer young people so many of the core skills they need to pursue careers at sea or within the marine and maritime industry.

‘I’d like to congratulate the GFM as well as the Andrew Simpson Foundation who have worked tirelessly to get this programme off the ground during such a challenging time. I wish them all the very best of luck with what’s to come.’

With construction given the go-ahead, it is hoped that the centre will be welcoming its first cohort of students in September.

Prospective students can find out more information and register for the course via the GFM website.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for 27p a day.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.