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. 

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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.