Local Imam seeks to raise funds to establish Sunderland’s first ever Islamic school in Ashbrooke

A local Imam is fundraising to raise money to with the view to establishing Sunderland’s first ever Islamic faith school in Langham Tower, Ashbrooke.

Syed Al-amin, who is an Imam overseeing the Whitley Bay Cultural Islamic centre in North Tyneside, states that the community are seeking to acquire the historic building, constructed in 1891, and are now fundraising to initiate the school.

On the fundraiser website, Al-amin stated: “for many years, it has been a vision to establish an Islamic School in Sunderland” and “we want everyone to understand how important it is to establish a school under Islamic ethos for our children and future generations to come.”

According to a poster distributed, the new school will encompass a nursery, secondary school and sixth form, but also provide clubs, activities, community outreach, self-reformation and health & wellbeing.

The building in question, Langham Tower, has a long educational history attached to it. The tower was first part of the Sunderland Teacher Training College in 1908, before it came under the ownership of Sunderland Polytechnic (and later Sunderland University) for most of the 20th century.

In 2004, it was sold to private school Sunderland High. However, the building became vacant in 2016 after the school shut down.