Students and staff from Outwood Academy Riverside in Middlesbrough visited their future school site on 6 May 2026, marking a significant step toward the completion of the school’s new permanent home. Pupils from years 7, 8 and 9 were joined by the town’s mayor, Chris Cooke, and deputy mayor, Philippa Storey, for a hard hat tour of the three-storey construction project in the Middlehaven area.
The academy, which is operated by Outwood Grange Academies Trust, has been operating out of temporary classrooms since it first opened in September 2020. The new site is situated in a central location close to Middlesbrough College and the town’s railway station, providing a long-awaited permanent base for the school community.
Construction work at the site began in the summer of 2025, with the project being led by contractor Bowmer + Kirkland on behalf of the Department for Education. The school building is a major feature of the wider Middlehaven regeneration programme, an initiative led by Middlesbrough Council that includes the redevelopment of the historic Old Town Hall and plans for up to 3,400 new homes in the area.
Students are expected to move into the new facility in 2027, bringing an end to the school’s period of using temporary accommodation. The visit offered pupils and staff their first look at the progress being made on the site as excitement grows for the move into their new permanent home next year.
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