new build

25 January 2008

Work is progressing very well with the new building at Hummersknott School and Language College in the first phase of the £15m refurbishment scheme.

The windows and outside cladding are now being fitted in the creative arts block at the front of school. This will ensure this building is watertight within the next few weeks so that work on internal fitting out can commence. Students and staff have been able to tour the new block and are very exited about moving in and using the new facilities. This block will include drama and recording studios, music practice rooms, art rooms and pottery facilities including a new kiln. This block is due to be completed and handed over on 30^th June.

The new science and technology building at the rear of the existing school is also on schedule and due to be completed by 14^th July. This will incorporate design and technology rooms with business studies on the ground floor and 9 specialist science classrooms on the first floor.

The new reception and office area will be completed by 5^th May when the refurbished main hall will also be completed in time for GCSE exams to be held. The swimming pool and changing areas has been completely refurbished and this is due to be fully commissioned by the end of March. The refurbishment of the rest of the sports block will take place during this summer holidays.

The second phase of the work which will see the main part of the school refurbished will commence at the start of the summer holidays, the whole project is due to be completed by September 2009.

The school and Walter Thompson, the main contractor, are working together to ensure that the building work does not disrupted the work of the school and that students still receive the high standard of education.

Background Hummersknott School has consistently been a high-performer. Applications for entry to the school always exceed the available number of places, while its GCSE achievements are above the national average. This level of attainment has been achieved despite the school having higher building repair bills than any other school in Darlington. It is recognised that the previous size, design and layout of the school buildings inhibited effective teaching within the school. Due to the condition of the school, it was decided that major refurbishment was required. Hummersknott is Darlington's largest secondary school, with more than 1,200 pupils. The size of the school, its popularity with parents and above average, performance means that continued success is extremely important. As a result, £15m is being spent to greatly improve and enhance the school. New All-Weather Football Pitch In addition to the major refurbishment work, subject to securing grant from Football Foundation, a new all-weather synthetic pitch will be provided. This will be regularly maintained, with a weekly service to remove rubbish and brush the surface to keep it even. The synthetic surface has a life span of 12 years and money will be available to replace it at the end of the period.	Phase 1 - Starting July 2007 Work to be carried out: Refurbishment of the swimming pool and changing rooms. Refurbishment of the main hall. Construction of a new arts block. Construction of a new science and technology block. Construction of a new entrance and admin block. The different areas will come into use as and when they are completed, but Phase 1 will complete in full in Summer 2008. Main Issues The only entrance for students will be on Edinburgh Drive past the bike shed. This will mean students do not mix with site traffic. Car parking will move to the tennis courts. Mock Year 11 exams in December 2007 will take place in the sports hall. The main hall will be available for GCSE exams in summer of 2008. All construction work near the exam rooms will stop during the exams. New Fire assembly points will be organised away from the building work. All deliveries will be scheduled for times when students are in lessons. All building sites will be fenced off securely.	The Building Team Walter Thompson has been chosen as the main contractor. The design work has been carried out by Waring and Netts after extensive consultation with Staff and students. The phasing of the work is intended to minimise disruption in school. Headteacher Pat Howarth says: "We have been determined from the start of the project to ensure that students and staff will be able to work normally Walter Thompson have already been totally co-operative and are sensitive to the schools needs,"
		The main hall will be turned into a multi-use performance space and lecture hall. We also plan to use this for cold lunches, thus reducing queuing for our current dining area. Stage and sound equipment will also be modernised. The arts block will contain a new Learning Resource Centre, Drama and Dance studios, music practice rooms as well as classrooms and a recording studio. New art rooms will be on the upper floor. Technology teaching will be transformed by the creation of two new food technology rooms, textiles, graphics and multimedia rooms. Nine new science labs will be located on the top floor of the technology/science block.

	Phase 2 — Starting 2008 Sports hall and changing rooms refurbished. New car park on site of tennis courts. Refurbishment of all classrooms in the two storey part of the existing main school. This will create new teaching spaces suited into English, Maths, Languages, and_.Humanities a long with new ICT rooms. Phase 2 to complete in Spring 2009 Main Issues Single student entrance remains with students entering the school at the rear Maths and Science blocks. Art, Technology, Science, Music, Drama all move into the new buildings, Admin moves into new offices. Science labs converted to English classrooms. On completion all subjects move into new school. New classroom areas will be larger, well ventilated and insulated in order to improve working temperatures. New ICT equipment will be installed and new furniture in all areas. New lockers will be located in corridors with CCTV used to improve security. All toilets will be newly built with improved security. Each College will have its own staff base and a student base. The latter will be full of ICT so that students can work before, during and after school.	Phase 3 — June 2009 Demolition of Science, Maths, Technology and Cuthbert and Quaker blocks. Installation of playground area at rear of school. Installation of new tennis courts. Phase 3 to complete late Summer, early Autumn 2009. Main Issues The rear of the school will be sealed off during demolition. Noisy work will take place outside of the examination period. At this stage, fencing will be completed to provide a locked area after the start of the school day, thus ensuring visitors can only enter by the main entrance.