Students at Goole Academy can once again get full use of the school’s facilities after restoration work was carried out on the original building.
The restoration began on the Edwardian listed building back in September 2025 and was completed for Easter 2026. Little could be done due to the listed status of the grand structure but the work restored the original features, painting skirting boards while saving the original wall tiling and decorating the ceiling while maintaining the mural. Fake walls were removed to restore larger classrooms to their original form and halo lights were installed to introduce adaptive lighting. The old hall is now a modern computer suite and, taking pride of place in the entryway, is the original stone laid by Thomas Coates Turton, Chairman of the Joint Body of Governors, in 1908 on display.
Goole Academy opened as Goole Grammar School in 1909, with the former Goole College site across the road being Goole Secondary Modern School. It become Vermuyden School in 1990 and then Goole High School in 2009 before gaining academy status in 2011 and settling on its current name in 2014. It was run by Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) from 2014 to 2018 and has been operated by Delta Academies Trust since 2018. This is the third time in recent years that the original building, currently known as V block, has undergone restoration works. It closed in 2015 and reopened in 2016 before closing again in 2017 for further works. These projects saw the demolition of the non-listed parts of the original building, which included converting the hall by knocking down the built-in stage and building a glass wall to the outside. An elevator was also installed. The white building, known as G block, also saw its canteen receive a major overhaul, with its seating area largely expanded and a juice bar implemented, along with much-needed improvements to the toilets. Perhaps most notable is the erection of the black building, known as V block, on the former site of the old medical centre, which now houses the core subjects of English and Maths as well as the school library.
Principal Kirsty Holt said: “We felt it was really important to retain the character of what the school looked like and that tradition has moved forward as we’ve evolved into Goole Academy. As principal, I’m really proud that we have a resource to future proof the building for our children. We’ve now got a sustainable school for the generations to come.”