The former school, De Sassepoort - Spoor 9, has been renamed freinetschool 't Sas. This new name signifies 'School Aan het Storyplein', referencing its location on Henri Storyplein in Nieuw Gent. Since September, the new school building has been home to approximately 65 children in special education.
The new, sustainable passive building, equipped with heat pumps and solar panels, was presented to the neighborhood today. Community organizations and local youth initiatives can utilize facilities such as the gymnasium and refectory. This modern facility replaces the outdated premises in Bevelandstraat.
The school's layout includes kindergarten classrooms, a spacious refectory, a warming kitchen, three workshops, a staff room, and activity rooms for girls' and playground programs on the ground floor. The first floor features classrooms and a gymnasium with changing rooms, while the second floor houses additional classrooms, an office for the management, and rooms for care teachers. Furthermore, there are spaces dedicated to speech therapy, psychotherapy, and physiotherapy.
School management describes the building as a 'wonderful home base' that will be further enlivened in the coming months with artwork and projects created by students. The shared spaces are open and accessible to the local community.
The name change from De Sassepoort - Spoor 9 to freinetschool 't Sas reflects the unification of two types of special education into a single school operation. The new name maintains a connection to the old one while also symbolizing a place of rest, akin to a lock for ships.
Thanks to the new construction, the school can now accommodate more kindergarteners and offer extended before and after-school care, providing significant support for many families. The children have responded enthusiastically to their new environment.
The school's design is by evr-architecten, and its realization was made possible with financial support from AGION, the Agency for Infrastructure in Education.
