The eagerly anticipated project to renovate our splendid but rather dated Hall is nearing completion. This was never expected to be possible in six weeks and was always going to cause some disruption to the start of the year. The children and staff have coped admirably!
The works are as follows:
A new, lower, sound-absorbent ceiling, with built in LED lighting. This will make the Hall quieter for children, especially at dinner times, a good thing in particular for some of our neuro-divergent children. The lighting will be more ‘changeable’ and better in terms of sustainability and energy use.
The walls are being clad with wooden panels to make the Hall feel more natural and less ‘institutional’. Storage space is being built into these panels.
The clunky, leaking ancient iron radiators, historic as they were, have been replaced by more effective and energy efficient, controllable, sleek models. Ugly rusting pipework has been replaced with something more modern and then hidden behind the new panels.
All the doors, which were in a poor state of repair, have been replaced.
The beautiful and historic parquet floor will be fully restored to its former glory in October half-term
All the audio-visuals and technology will be upgraded (pending the floor renovation for reasons of dust). The old fashioned screen and projector are to be replaced with a giant integrated Apple TV. The sound system is upgraded, speakers hidden in the ceiling, areas of the Hall wirelessly microphoned for better sound in assemblies, performances, theatrical productions etc.
This has been a costly project, which will doubtless leave some wondering how we can afford it when continually pleading poverty! The simple answer is that capital (ie building and grounds) funding is a separate pot of money to that used in the ongoing running of the school, including staffing costs. Never the twain shall meet. Capital, of which we have accrued plenty over years of careful management, cannot be spent on operating costs and cannot (frustratingly) be converted into ‘ready cash’ to spend operationally.