Behind the scenes, we have been working hard to prepare for the development of the senior school gym later this year and I thought you might like to see this equipment layout plan, offering a glimpse of how the plans are coming together.

Turning three former squash courts into a fully equipped and aspirational fitness facility is no mean feat, but we’ve taken inspiration from some of the best university gyms in the country, as well as advice from a consultant who works across Europe with major sporting teams and organisations.

The Level and the area around the Sports Hall will house a builders' compound during the project, which will include the first half of the Christmas Term.  We will ensure that the school continues to operate safely, and this will be explained to pupils, parents and carers in September.  I hope that your children are looking forward to making use of the new gym at the end of this year, at which point we will also be able to welcome you into school to see the new facility in person.

We have issued tender documents to construction firms and are now working through their queries, whilst finalising all of the project details. Enabling works are scheduled to begin at Easter, although most of the work will be taking place from July, after the end of the summer term, with completion of the gym and the refurbished entrance hall and changing rooms still estimated for November.

Our aim is for the gym to become somewhere where your sons and daughters are excited to go, where they can learn about fitness and how to use equipment correctly, and which will help them to achieve both their individual and collective health and fitness goals.

Yours sincerely,
 
Richard Bate
Bursar