April Update

Just over a week into the Easter holidays, and the the first of SCCS's new buildings is beginning to rise from the ground.  Last week the floor slab of the new sports building - which will also provide a new purpose-built home for Somers Town Youth Centre - was poured; five days later, and the steel framework is already taking shape.  Check out the latest photos here.

The End of an Era, and a Vision for the Future

This week the central part of the Medburn Building disappeared from view behind the white sheeting which will protect students and staff during the demolition works.  It seemed important to capture on camera the last glimpses of a building in which some of our staff worked and which many of our parents remember from their days as students at Sir William Collins School, as SCCS was then known.  Already, much of the interior of the building has been stripped away, as Mr Tedesco, Ms Bayford and I were able to see for ourselves last week on a site inspection visit.  We are all really excited about the prospect of moving in to the renovated building in a year's time, as its light and spacious rooms will provide a great working environment with fantastic views over the London skyline from the top floor in particular.

Yesterday, we turned our attention to the visual environment in the new school.  A group of Year Council representatives, teaching and support staff and the Chair of Governors met with the architect and design team from BAM in a workshop led by our Client Design Advisor, Pascale Scheurer of Surface to Air Architects, to make recommendations about the use of colour, display and signage.  Our task was to suggest how the school's core values of Creativity, Sustainability and Inclusion could be clear to all who learn in, work at or visit South Camden Community School. 

After two hours of thought and discussion our many ideas were taken away by the design team to help them create an exciting new image for the school without losing its identity as SCCS.

Don't forget you can see more photos (including dramatic images of the crane lifting the new food tech classroom from its lorry in Charrington Street during half term, and panoramic views from the Medburn roof) by clicking on the link to our photo gallery here!

What a Difference a Month Makes

A busy two weeks in school since the half term break have delayed the promised update on the blog, with the result that there is masses of progress to report in words and pictures since I last wrote in February.

The contractors took advantage of the holiday week to install the new food technology classroom in the CLC quad and, at the same time, to create some extra space for us by removing the planted areas.  We were sorry to lose these, but it has made a massive difference at break and lunchtime by allowing us to install some picnic tables which are a popular spot for students to meet and chat.  They are so successful that we have ordered some more which will go into the main quad in the next few weeks.

The new food room is already fully operational, and staff and students who use the room have reported that it is an improvement on the old one, even though it is in a temporary building. 

The construction of the new sports building (which will also provide a permanent home for the Somers Town Youth Centre) is progressing quickly.  Behind the hoardings in the champs playground, the steelwork for the foundations is taking shape, and we will start to see the main structure going up within the next few weeks.  Finally, as I write, the scaffolders are at work outside the Medburn Centre, preparing for the demolition of the central part of the building which will eventually be connected to the new arcade.

See the updated photo gallery here!

Energy from the Earth

SCCS took an important symbolic step towards a more sustainable future today when the geothermal piling for the ground source heat pumps began with the first borehole outside Music Room 2.  Eventually 60 boreholes, each a scarcely imaginable 150 metres deep, will be connected via a network of pipes to the new boilerhouse which will be constructed in what was the food technology room.  Students will have the chance to find out more about the green energy which will power the new school during Green Week in March - and there will be more on the Blog about it as the drilling progresses.

Next week the construction team will be busy in many areas of the school site, taking advantage of the half term break to make as much progress as they can when the school is (almost) empty.  Look out for a further update in two weeks' time, when there should be many changes to report in words and pictures.

Week Six

The rubble from the demolition of the gyms is now mainly cleared, and surveyors have been setting out the site for the foundations of the new building.   Elsewhere, BAM's site offices have been installed - a three-storey green and orange cube at the top of Charrington Street - and the playground is being prepared for the start of the geothermal piling which will provide the heating for the new school.  After half term, Green Week followed by Science and Engineering Week will provide the first big opportunities for students to take part in projects and activities with BAM about the construction that will be taking place on site and about the sustainable and environmentally friendly place the new school will be.  Meanwhile, students have been enjoying the spring sunshine in the main Quad before the work to modernise the Medburn Building, in the left of the photo, starts in earnest in a few months time.

Visit our Photo Gallery

The Gyms Then and Now

Back in the summer term, an edition of the fortnightly school newsletter featured this fetching photograph of the early morning staff swimming group, who braved the cold and unwelcoming changing rooms in order to take advantage of the temporary 14-metre swimming pool we hosted for three months as part of the Make A Splash London project. 

Six months on, a giant concrete crushing machine arrived  yesterday to start preparing the site for the new sports building, which will also provide a new, purpose-built home for the Somers Town Youth Club.  And we're learning to live with the changing landscape outside our windows, to the noise (which we had expected) and the vibration (which we had not) as metres of reinforced concrete are broken up by an outsize pneumatic drill. 

Visit our Photo Gallery

New Views in the Heart of Somers Town

It's hard to keep up with the progress of our demolition contractors: every day new vistas open up as another wall comes down.  Today, the last of the "left-hand gym" - the one adjacent to Chalton Street - was levelled and for the first time we can get a sense of the footprint of the new sports building and youth centre.  It's incredible to think that only 6 months ago on this spot we were hosting a 14-metre long mobile swimming pool as part of the Make a Splash London project.  I'll upload "then and now" photos into our online photo gallery.

Champs As Usual?

Week 3 - and the demolition of the gyms is almost complete.  Students and staff alike have watched fascinated as the structure has been precisely and delicately dismantled in the steel jaws of the digger - and we've all been amazed at the speed and efficiency of the process.  It won't be long until the piles for the new sports building are taking shape.  The demolition contractors have even been happy with the weather: the incessant rain has helped to reduce the dust. Meanwhile, Champs games continue much as usual! 

The Journey Begins

Welcome to the SCCS Rebuild Blog 

Now that work to create our new school has begun in earnest, my aim in this blog is to provide a regular update on progress so far and to keep readers updated about what will be happening next.  You can also view an online photo gallery to find out what is going on behind BAM's green and orange hoardings.

Last term, we started to see changes around the school site, as preparations began for Phase One of the building works: the replacement of our crumbling old gyms and changing rooms with a bright, modern two storey building.  This will house our new activity studio and changing rooms as well as a new purpose-built space for the Somers Town Youth Centre, complete with a fitness suite which will be used - at different times - by both the youth club and SCCS.  

The safety of everyone on the school site is our top priority, so we have taken the decision that for the time being we need to keep the main playground closed as access to it is quite restricted.  We are looking at how to maximise outdoor space for students and at whether we can make any changes to the organisation of the school day to make this easier for students and staff.

Already the demolition of the old PE block is well underway, with the changing rooms and PE corridor already a heap of rubble.  The new temporary changing rooms have arrived in the bottom car park (after being delayed for 3 weeks in Birmingham because of the heavy snow), and PE lessons are well established in the Sports Centre.  Meanwhile, at the north end of Charrington Street, BAM are installing their site offices next to the Salisbury Wing.