Building works announcement

Building works announcement Exciting news: necessary approval has now been received, and a contractor appointed, meaning that work can begin in the next few days develop the top floor of our school building and to build a new sports hall and swimming pool. The new 2nd floor will accommodate the whole of Secondary and will provide a purpose-built suite of rooms specifically designed for Secondary-aged students.

You will all be aware that plans have been in place and applications have been put forward to develop the top floor of our school building and to build a new sports hall and swimming pool. Our news today is that necessary approval has now been received and a contractor appointed which means that work can begin in the next few days.

We will write separately to you with full details regarding the impact this will have on the school in the coming months and any alterations to car-parking arrangements. As ever, our first priority is safety and ensuring the school can operate effectively with full procedures in place to ensure students remain safe at all times.

The new 2nd floor will accommodate the whole of Secondary and will provide a purpose-built suite of rooms specifically designed for Secondary-aged students.

This includes:

• State of the art Science labs
• A fully-equipped Multimedia Library
• Specialist Art, Drama and Music Studios
• Al fresco style coffee shop areas for all Secondary students
• A dedicated IB study area

Work on the 2nd floor will be completed by August 2015 in time for the new academic year. With Secondary taking up this space it allows Primary to expand throughout the whole of the two lower floors. This creates more space for Primary and also provides them with subject specific rooms such as Science labs and Art studios which can have a great impact on their learning.

The new sports block will be placed on the top part of the existing field, near the car park and includes the following:

• A large covered and air-conditioned multi-purpose hall that can be used for basketball, volleyball, tennis, and other sports
• An indoor semi-Olympic sized swimming pool: 13m x 25.6m
• Separate changing rooms, showers, lockers and toilets for males and females
• A large gym: 150 metres squared

This sports block will be completed by December 2015. The remainder of the sports field will remain fully open for student use throughout the construction period.

My deepest thanks to all colleagues and members of our community who have worked so hard to get us to this stage. We will keep you fully updated in the coming months as work progresses and the new building comes to life.

This is a very exciting time for the school. We look forward to new buildings in use in what is a relatively short space of time, and all these new facilities providing amazing opportunities for all students.

Patrick Horne