PEACEHAVEN Community School is hoping to become a bigger part of the community by opening a shop in the Meridian Centre which will provide a snapshot of school life.

Launched by music teacher Matt Casterton, the shop will showcase student work, hold learning sessions for members of the public, host informal concerts for students and sell tickets to school events.

Mr Casterton’s aim is for the additional presence to become a window into the school.

He said: “We’d like to work much more closely with local residents and the community.

“Although the school is right next to the shopping centre, members of the public can’t just pop in and see what we’re doing.

“So much fantastic work happens behind closed doors and when I thought about how we could share some of this with the local community, a shop in the Meridian Centre was the perfect fit.”

Currently, the shop displays student work and can be booked by students and staff to come and work, rehearse and hold meetings.

In the future, Mr Casterton hopes that the shop will become a key part of the community and already has plans to hold IT training workshops, sell school uniform and have ‘shopping angels’ available to help people carry their shopping.

Next year the school will hold its ‘Maths in Action’ week and the space will be used to help students engage with Maths in real life, for example shopping, travel and trading.

Head Austen Hindman said: “This is a fantastic initiative and I believe it will really help students play an even bigger role in the local community. We hope that local residents will come and see the great work and meet our students.”

The shop is on the lookout for some more furniture.

Call 01273 581100.