The opening of the new Dining Hall and Café 1573 close to the end of the Autumn Term represents a milestone in the implementation of the School’s estates strategy. These openings mark the completion of the second phase of this major building project at the rear of the Main School Hall.
Both facilities feature interior design with graphics that reflect the history of the School. Café 1573, which opens on to Red Square, provides a coffee shop-style social environment in which senior pupils can relax. It is also being used by the School to provide hospitality for guests and parents on special occasions, starting with this year’s Christmas Concert.
The first phase of the project, a Food Technology area, opened last year. Work on the final phase, the new Queen’s Library, is nearing completion. Once the furniture arrives next month, the process of installing the necessary IT infrastructure and filling the shelves with 13,000 books will begin. The Library will open later in the academic year, offering 100 computer terminals and 40-50 additional study desks so that Sixth-Formers can undertake independent study, while pupils from the lower years are also accommodated.
Work is also now well underway on a separate project: a £800,000 new roof for the Fern Building. Replacing the previous faulty roof, this structure will safeguard of this very large building. “We have a 10-15 year estates strategy, and, thanks to the increased height that the new roof provides, one of the strategy’s objectives will be to create a new sports hall at one end,” said the Headmaster.