Building news

We will publish regular updates regarding the progress of our building project here.

Work continues.... [ 23 Sep 2011]

The third week of term and we are settling into our new building nicely. There is still a small team of builders on site and next week the landscapers arrive to start shaping our grounds.
Welcome to Autumn Term 2011 [ 05 Sep 2011]

We started the new school year in our lovely new building. All of the children loved their light bright new classrooms and learning areas. Next week we move into the new ICT area, food technology room, activity room and adult education areas. In the mean time the children have lots of new areas to enjoy and their huge new playgrounds to explore.
Autumn term 2011 - 2 days to go... [ 02 Sep 2011]

Today began with corridors lined with boxes all waiting to be unpacked and two huge deliveries of new tables and chairs.

The new keystage 2 area is looking fantastic. Outside all the classrooms are great new canopies to provide a sheltered waiting area and somewhere to learn outside. In the corridors there are light, bright activity and computer areas.

By the end of the day the teachers had transformed the classrooms into lovely places for learning, all we need now are a few children.... the decorators will be busy all weekend and we look forward to showing off our fantastic new school on Monday.
Autumn Term 2011 - 4 days to go [ 30 Aug 2011]

The building work has been non-stop during the summer holidays. Today
was the start of yet another moving week. At 7.00am the sight of
everything piled up in the hall was slightly over-whelming but our team
of 8 removal men quickly got to work emptying
the hall and filling the empty classrooms. Tomorrow the teachers begin
emptying boxes and creating places for learning....
We're open! [ 10 Jun 2011]

After a frantic last few days it was a BIG relief to open our first 7 new classrooms at 8.50am last Wednesday, exactly on time.

The inside of the building is looking great and the teachers worked wonders on the two inset days to make sure every classroom was a fully equipped learning environment ready for the first lesson. Each classroom has excellent facilities;iInteractive white boards for teaching, a soundfield system to help hearing and concentration, great accoustics, under floor heating and sensor controlled lighting. All set in a light, bright environment with great access to outside learning facilities. The activity spaces and small rooms for group teaching are going to have a great impact on the learning opportunities we can offer.

Outside there is still plenty more work to be done but we can already see how lovely it's going to be. The grass seed has finally started to grow and we should be able to walk on the turf in three weeks. The foundation stage and year 1 play areas are taking shape, the court yard stone spiral has been completed and the fossil patio outside the library is beautiful, complete with 2 million year old fern fossils. This week the Year 2 covered area will be completed.
Pulling out all the stop [ 31 May 2011]

Our builders have been working 24/7 for over a week, pulling out all the stops to get our building ready for the children to move into next week. Throughout the bank holiday weekend we've had teams of landscapers, electricians and plasterers by day and carpet laying and painting all night. The school was looking great by early this morning but there is still a long way to go... The removal men have already arrived and have spent the day moving 250 crates from Nursery, Reception, year 1 and 2 into the new building - the paint didn't even have time to dry!

This week is going to be a fantastic effort by everyone involved but it will all feel worthwhile when we open the new gate and introduce the children to their new classrooms next Wednesday!
Moving on moving in [ 15 May 2011]

Over Easter we moved into the new admin area, after a busy week packing and unpacking over 100 boxes and moving furniture we left the old building with the builders hot on our heels, knocking walls down in the old staffroom minutes after we'd left.

The new areas have exceeded everyone's expectations and are a pleasure to work in. For the first time we can see that the mess and disruption of the last year really will be worth while... This boost to everyone's moral has come just at the right time as in 2 weeks we do it all again! Nursery, Reception, year 1 and 2 are waiting for their 200 packing crates to arrive and will be busy packing ready for their half term move. The new classrooms are progressing really quickly.

The fencing along Mandeville Drive has been removed and we now have a glimpse of our impressive new entrance, it's hard to believe that we'll will be coming into school this way from June. Landscape materials have been arriving on site all week and the outside learning areas for the classrooms are making rapid progress. EXCITING TIMES!!!!!
Leadership team site visit [ 24 Mar 2011]

On Monday the Leadership team were able to visit the site for the first time. This was the first opportunity to start to plan how how we will work in our new building.

The new admin area is looking great, all the rooms are complete, final fixing is in progress and the area is ready to be decorated. I am confident all staff are going to love their new areas. We are now busy planning the move, which will take place during the Easter holidays.

The classrooms in the foundation stage/keystage 1 building are also making good progress, the windows are all in place, the building is watertight and the internal walls are almost complete. For the first time we were able to see how the children would work in the new areas and we were delighted! There is a natural flow to how children will move through the building. There is plenty of light, wide spaces for activity and a good relationship with the outdoors. We ventured on to the roof to see the air source heating system which will provide the energy for the under-floor heating in the new areas.

In the three new keystage two classrooms the children were able to see the under-floor heating being installed, it will be interesting to feel the heat beneath our feet next winter.

After almost two years of planning this building I am delighted to see the first phase nearing completion, so far everything is meeting my expectations. The next few weeks will be frantically busy but very exciting...
Walls and Windows all around [ 07 Feb 2011]

On Friday I was able to walk around our new building for the very first time which was very exciting... The new admin block is now structurally complete so it was very interesting to wander in and out of the rooms I've been looking at plans of for the last year. The new windows are beautiful and I think the staff are going to love their new staff room. The new classrooms are taking shape in the Foundation stage/keystage 1 building, I love the big windows and roof lights, it is going to be a lovely light, bright building to work and learn in.

The most interesting part of my tour was up on the roof, there are huge quanities of insulation that are being sandwiched between the new roof and the old, having just paid a £6000 gas bill I was very pleased to see that we will be so well insulated. Extra insulation is also being added to the new classroom walls and floors. The view from the roof confirmed just how extensive this project is, it's hard to believe we will ever be surrounded by grass and playing fields again but I'm assured we will.

It was also very impressive to see how seriously health and safety is taken, every effort is made to ensure the the site is safe. There were even handrails and safety gates on the roof - which I was very grateful for!
Count down to the end of phase one.. [ 28 Jan 2011]

The new walls are all now in place in the new admin block and the windows are due to go in next week. The last two weeks have been very busy with almost daily planning meetings as the pace of work quickens. We have now got a detailed plan for moving. Office staff are busy cancelling holiday plans and preparing to move into the first part of the new building over the Easter holidays.

In the last two weeks we have spent many hours planning the landscaping, furniture layouts and colour schemes - all very exciting developments! This combined with the enthusiasm of the MANDAID activites has created a really positive and optimistic atmosphere at school. The packing boxes have been ordered and yet another skip is on standby. Our new school really is beginning to take shape...
Steel frames and windows [ 03 Jan 2011]

By the end of the year the steel frames for all the new areas were complete and the shapes of the new buildings had been added to the Cottonmill skyline. Work had started on the new roof works before the snow forced an early Christmas break. Work on the driveway is almost complete and we are expecting the tarmac to be laid soon.

Behind the scenes in the old keystage one classrooms good progress is being made; old walls have been knocked down, new walls are beginning to take shape and the new heating and electrical services are being installed. The new windows were delivered today so we look forward to seeing walls and windows in the new areas soon...
Savings allow features to be reinstated! [ 06 Dec 2010]

The good news is that the freezing temperatures are keeping the mud nice and solid so we are enjoying a mud free period in school.

The even better news is that the project team have been able to identify some significant savings so this week we have been able to identify two areas that had previously been cut and can now be put back into the project.

We hope to include back into the project wide steps around the KS1 & FS areas, which provide a social area and space to play rather than just narrow pathways. We are also able to upgrade the entrance area, providing a natural stone surface rather than functional, but less aesthetic, tarmac.
Work progresses well despite weather [ 01 Dec 2010]

The building work is progressing well and so far we have only lost one day to bad weather.

The project is still on target to finish on time but we have had to rearrange some of the work schedules. This means that offices staff, nursery, reception and KS1 will not move into their areas in February and Easter as we had originally hoped but during May half term.

This is a little disappointing but we have to look forward to September, when all the changes will feel worth while and we have a lovely new building to enjoy.
Mud glorious mud! [ 08 Nov 2010]

The building work gathered pace over half term and we have the mud to prove it!!! A huge hole was dug in the field for the new attenuation tanks, happily this was all covered over by the time we got back to school. The new paths were completed (although we'll be adding more this weekend) and the playing fields ploughed up, levelled off and made ready fro reseeding. We are now just waiting for the best weather window to reseed and hope to be able to have two new football pitches ready for the summer term. A new canopy and hard play area was also added to the Reception area so that play can continue whatever the weather.

This week the concrete mixers arrived and and within a few hours our new classrooms had floors. Reception children had a great time watching through the peep holes. Next week we hope to give everyone a chance to visit their new classrooms and have a talk with the builders.
Shaping up [ 20 Oct 2010]

October has been a busy month for the builders and the new building is really taking shape. We've been lucky with the weather and managed to keep the mud to a minimum. The foundations and new drains are all in place. The steel work has been constructed and the new Nursery, Reception,year 1 and 2 classes are already taking shape. The builders have moved into the old year 1 classrooms and begun knocking the walls down to create the new offices and staffroom.
The builders are back! [ 25 Sep 2010]

Work has begun to add 3 new classrooms to the end of the Keystage 2 corridor and to start building the new Foundation stage and Keystage 1 block.

For the new Reception children this has been very exciting - the diggers have been clearing the site and the lorries have delivered tons of soil just in front of their play area.

The heaps of soil are part of the new landscape design. The aim is to shape a variety of small mounds that children can run around and over. If all goes well we will be able to seed these in the next few weeks and have beautiful green grassy mounds by next summer....
Building stops [ 30 Aug 2010]

August was a disaster - the project was stopped whilst financial problems were addressed. Sadly big cuts had to be agreed and a new programme of work arranged before the contract could be signed and work begin to make progress again.
Fences fences fences [ 23 Jul 2010]

The focus of the work in early July was safety. Fencing grew around us in every direction, to ensure the pupils were safe in their own areas of the school. The foundation stage was checked and double checked to ensure it could be safely demolished and as soon as the "all clear" was given a demolition party was arranged. Watching a whole building disappear before our eyes was very exciting.

Read the Herts Advertiser article online
Preparations begin [ 27 Jun 2010]

The classes were reorganised into their temporary homes for the duration of the building work. Keystage 2 children took up residence in their mobile classrooms and the builders moved into the vacated areas of the school. The diggers provided lots of entertainment for younger children as they got to work installing new drains and preparing the site. The school began to feel very small and cramped.