The project, which was funded with £283,000 from the Policy & Resources Committee, saw more than 100 volunteers, including former students, local artists, businesses and community groups, involved across the summer.
‘A huge, huge amount of work has been done, actually, not just over the summer, but over the last 12 months,’ said head teacher Keiran James.
The site has been completely redecorated and ‘revamped’, with pinboards cleared, walls repainted, and new displays put up to create what Mr James described as ‘more college feel rather than a school feel’.
The improvements go beyond aesthetics.
The school hall has been converted into a ‘university-style lecture theatre’ and a multi-use independent study area.
Additional IT and networked classrooms have been created, along with a larger science room and a new photography dark room.
Librarian Dallas Courtenay-Warren said that the library has already received generous donations from the Dyslexia Day Centre and new plants from local businesses like B&Q and Waitrose.
A former student from JG Architecture and a local interior designer helped create the design for the reception area, cafeteria, and staff room, while local artists, students, and even firefighters painted vibrant murals, and prisoners built benches for the outside communal spaces.
Ash Dupre, head of education capital projects, described the work as ‘a huge effort’ and explained that the project had been meticulously planned.
‘We did phase one last summer which were the works that we knew needed to be done to be able to move the Sixth Form Centre to here,’ he said.
He acknowledged that the works had faced a few logistical hiccups and that a small number of items went missing during the move, but noted that despite these issues, the project was now largely complete, with the final tasks expected to be finalised within the next week.
Teacher Jess Cobb was amazed by the outcome, saying that ‘it’s amazing what they’ve been able to do with the budget.’
And students were also keen to praise their new home.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.