The greatest investment we can make in the future of our community is in the quality of education we provide for our young people. The creation of a new Academy school in Folkestone providing an integrated education for students aged from 3 to 18 is a statement to the ambition people have for the town and the opportunities we want to see created here.
On Tuesday this week I joined my colleague the Education Minister Elizabeth Truss, for her visit to officially open the new Folkestone Primary Academy school. This school has stunning state of the art facilities that are a world away from those previously available at the old Park Farm primary that it replaces. The partnership with the senior Folkestone Academy next door also allows for a seamless transition between primary and secondary school for the students. We were given a guided tour by the Headteacher Helen Tait and the Chairman of the Trustees, Roger De Haan, and it was clear that the students love their new school.
Following our visit we went on to the new Folkestone Academy sixth form centre at The Glassworks in the creative quarter. Again, Elizabeth Truss was asked to formally open this new facility. The students have of course already been studying here since the Folkestone Academy took charge of the buildings in September for the start of this new academic year. You may well have noticed the dramatic increase in the numbers of smart young people in this part of the town during the week. It is amazing to think that the Folkestone Academy, which replaced a school which didn't have a sixth form, has such a strong demand for places that its senior students now need a separate facility away from the main school buildings. I'm sure that this new arrangement will continue to be a popular one, as the sixth form centre certainly has more of the feel of a college campus than a school; more akin to the next step in education that many of the students will take.
Good facilities of course make the job of education easier, but the ultimate test of their success is the results that are achieved by the students. Again, we have seen constant and dramatic progress here, meaning that the opportunities available to young people in our area to study, and get good grades are probably better now than ever before.
It's good to see as well more new businesses opening up in Folkestone's old town area. Last Friday 'Skylarks' opened its doors on the Old High Street selling vintage clothing and handmade bags and accessories. I also called in to its near neighbour, the new coffee shop called Manifest. This looks like it has just been transported from some fashionable street in London or New York, and I must admit that I enjoyed there a cup of coffee as good as I have ever had anywhere before.
If Folkestone is currently seeing a number of exciting new beginnings, it was also good this week to be part of marking the great heritage of the Cinque Port towns. On Tuesday I joined the Mayor of New Romney, for the celebrations to mark the 450th anniversary of the town's charter and mayoralty.