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A group of 13 students from Laurus Ryecroft recently represented the school at the Laurus Trust Science Fair, held at Didsbury High School.

The Laurus Trust Science Fair is an annual event bringing teams of students together from across the Trust to present projects based on a central theme.

This year’s theme was ‘Curiosity: What’s your question?’

Having spent the term developing their ideas as part of Science Club, Laurus Ryecroft students showcased a range of projects, exploring topics including dinosaurs, Apollo 11 and the oceans.

Throughout the event, they confidently presented their findings to judges and fellow students from across the Trust.

The standard of projects on display was incredibly high across the board, with students sharing a wide variety of creative and thought-provoking ideas.

We are delighted to share that one of our Year 7 groups was awarded first place for their interactive project on mass extinction.

The group impressed judges with their knowledge, confidence and outstanding presentation skills, explaining their project with clarity and engaging their audience throughout.

Judges described it as one of the strongest projects they had seen and praised the students’ exceptional oracy skills.

Their achievement marks the first time Laurus Ryecroft has won the Trust Science Fair and is a fantastic reflection of the hard work and passion shown by everyone involved.

Congratulations to all of our students who took part and represented our school so brilliantly. Well done to our winning team on an outstanding achievement!

Building on our positive approach to supporting students with special educational needs and disabilities, we’re proposing to open a new Specialist Base at Laurus Ryecroft to support children with additional needs in Tameside. This page explains what we’re planning and why it matters.

What is a Specialist Base?

A Specialist Resource Base is a purpose-built facility located within a mainstream school designed to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The proposed Specialist Base at Laurus Ryecroft would provide a small environment for students with specific educational needs who require additional structure, staffing and support whilst engaging in mainstream education.

Why is it needed?

Data across Tameside shows a growing number of children with EHCPs (Education, Health and Care Plans) and limited local school places available to effectively support them. The proposed Specialist Base would help meet the rising need in the community by increasing the availability of specialist support and reducing travel distances for families accessing the support they need.

This proposal forms part of Tameside Council’s wider SEND Capital Programme, which is delivering 118 new specialist places across primary, secondary and post‑16 phases. Laurus Ryecroft is included within this borough‑wide plan to increase local capacity so that more young people with EHCPs can access suitable education closer to home.

How would it work?

This base would be a specialist, small-scale provision for up to 42 students, and families would apply through the Local Authority’s placement process. It would provide a calm, structured environment with additional highly trained staff to provide targeted support for students with specific, identified needs.

Students will have additional funding which would enable the base to offer a dedicated, well-supported addition to the school – whilst being fully integrated into our ethos and community. The proposed Specialist Base would involve capital development on existing space within the school grounds.

Why now?

Tameside Council has approved capital investment to expand specialist provision, aiming for more children to access the right support within mainstream settings where appropriate. Establishing a Specialist Base at Laurus Ryecroft aligns with the Council’s SEND Sufficiency Strategy, which prioritises reducing the need for children to travel outside the borough for a suitable place.

Public Consultation Summary

Creating the right support for young people in our community is incredibly important to us, so a public consultation ran from Friday 27th March 2026 to 9am on Monday 1st June 2026 to gather views from stakeholders.

Overall, responses showed strong support for the proposed specialist base, alongside helpful feedback on areas such as capacity, integration with the wider school, and ensuring appropriate staffing and facilities.

These insights have been carefully considered and have directly informed refinements to the proposal, including strengthening plans for inclusion, clarifying operational arrangements, and ensuring the right level of support is in place from the outset.

Further details will be shared with parents/carers in communications once the proposal is approved by the Department for Education.