Photos of the latest building work can be seen in the galleries, click here to access the latest photos by clicking in the galleries.

You can also scroll to the bottom of this page and downloand additional photos in the pdf documents:

EXPANSION UPDATE - April 2010

Phase 1 (blocks A and B)
The ground work sub contractor has now completed all elements of the sub structure works including the installation of the earth tube renewable energy system, which will maximise efficiency and utilise the ground temperature for preheating and cooling of the new phases. The external drainage systems have been installed to provide drainage for the new blocks.

The glue laminated timber frame buildings have now been erected for both blocks A and B as well as installation of the roof for both blocks with these roofs utilising a sedum grass covering which is very eco friendly.

Apollo’s site team are very busy coordinating all the finishing trades to completion on both blocks which is proving to be a real challenge as the building we are providing is extremely environmentally friendly with a lot of high tech and specialised equipment being installed which will be of great benefit to the children, environment and overall running cost to the school and ultimately the borough.

The complexity of design and construction with this area of works; has proven to be both challenging and time consuming. Due to this the envisaged delivery date of blocks A & B will not be met. Subsequently Apollo Education have reviewed the current situation and have provided a revised programme to deliver completion in Oct 2010. We will work in unison with the school and London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames to meet the revised programme.

Blocks A and B will provide eight new classrooms and a learning resource centre (LRC), once complete.
 
Forthcoming Construction Activities
Construction works will commence on phase 2 of this project, blocks C1 and C from the 26 July 2010 to form two new reception rooms, one new classroom and extra room for the students coats and bag storage. Alongside these works, an extensive internal works refurbishment programme will commence to provide a new kitchen to service the school, upgrades to the existing heating, ventilation and lighting systems, new office space for the staff and a studio incorporating rooflights into the construction.

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Green Issues Related to the Expansion Programme

Two years ago in 2008 Holy Trinity School established an Eco Club for the children. The school has been awarded the Bronze Level of the Eco School Award and is applying for the Silver Level this year.

On 15.3.10 the school’s Eco Club and School Council met with Apollo in their site office to discuss sustainability issues relating to the build. This is one meeting of many to come as we intend to work together on green issues.

The school currently has a volunteer link with Kew Gardens, this involves a member of Kew Gardens working with the children once a week; the current focus is growing food.

The school has had links with BTCV (an international volunteering organisation that supports conservation iniatives in the UK and overseas) since 2008. The Eco club children have worked alongside this organisation with planting and creating habitats.

Our Eco club is currently also involved in the recyling of paper, cardboard, mobile phones, printer ink and clothes.

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EXPANSION UPDATE - February 2010

I’m sure that you have noticed activity on the school site. It has been a while since we have communicated about the progress of the expansion. The reason is that there has been so much work going on behind the scenes in terms of consultation, gaining planning permission, drawing up plans, interviewing and appointing contractors. Now the work is starting in earnest. Here, I will give you a brief overview of what is going to happen and you will receive more detailed information on a much more frequent basis.
 

The school is expanding from a one form entry school to a two form entry school, i.e. from now on we will take in two new reception classes every year instead of one and, when this has worked its way through the school to year 6, there will be two classes in each year. This will, eventually, double the number of  pupils from 210 to 420. It will produce a brand new modern school with state-of-the-art facilities. It will provide a unique learning environment for the children as well as a sustainable school that will be only school in Richmond to attain a BREEAM 'excellent' rating (BREEAM is an environmental assessment method, which is the leading and most widely used and sets the standard for very best practice in sustainable design).

We have appointed contractors, Apollo Education. They are part of the Apollo Group and have years of experience in schools, including new builds and refurbishment, primary and secondary. They also have vast experience working in sensitive environments such as hospitals with live operating theatres, fire stations and working schools. We have visited schools built by Apollo and talked to people in those schools, all have been very satisfied with the standard of work and their relationship with the teams involved. You can take a look at some of the schools Apollo have built on their website www.theapollogroup.co.uk and then go to 'Apollo Education'.

Officially, work starts on 15th February, half term. However, what you see at the moment is called 'enabling work'. As you can imagine, before work can actually start, there is a lot of preparation. The contractors need their site offices, storage facilities and energy feeds. They also need to prepare access routes for heavy vehicles. This is what is happening at the moment. They are taking the opportunity to prepare as much as possible in advance so that when the contract officially starts (February 15th) they will be ready to go. And when they do 'go' things will happen very quickly.
 

Below is a very simple diagram of how the building will be completed (it can also be downloaded from the Expansion Documents list below this section (Building Plan.pdf) or within the paper version of this news "HT News 2010-2 Feb") and I will go through that. However, it is not in great detail. A detailed plan of the building will be on permanent display in the school and you will receive detailed updates on a frequent basis.

During the February half term work began on the existing junior library - the photos above are of this demolition. Work will then start on section B, which is the construction of four new key stage 2 (junior) classrooms. We cannot give you exact start and finish dates for each section at the moment, but will update you on an ongoing basis. At the same time as work is being undertaken on section B, landscaping work will take place on the wild garden and the football field. A new hard surface play area will be constructed near section B. The football field will be completely relaid with new turf and will be our own version of 'new Wembley'.

Work will move round to section A, which mirrors section B, and will consist of four new key stage 2 classrooms. All these classrooms will be bigger than existing classrooms and will have large, sliding glass doors that will open out onto a dedicated outside teaching space that will create an open air environment when required. All these classrooms will be serviced by a ground source heat pump, which is a very environmentally friendly way of providing an underground heating and cooling system.
 

While working on sections A & B, work will also be undertaken on a multi use games area (MUGA). This is a hard surface play area that will be marked for a number of different games (netball etc) and will roughly be in the area where the two temporary classrooms are now. Landscaping of this area will also take place.

Work will then take place on section C, which will be two new reception classrooms and a new play area. We will look to utilise the summer holiday period as much as possible and, during this time work will start on refurbishing the hall and building a brand new kitchen which will provide fresh food cooked on the premises rather than brought in and heated.

Section D is another part of the 'new build' and will be the main entrance to the school, which will look directly on to Carrington Road, and will also contain the new staff area. Once we have enough new classrooms to migrate into, work will begin on refurbishing the existing school. Section F will become a learning resource area that will serve the whole school, and section G will be key stage 1 (infant) classrooms.
 

Throughout this period the safety of everyone involved will be our utmost priority. We will have a comprehensive health & safety plan agreed with the contractors. Apollo themselves are liable to inspections by the Health & Safety Inspectorate at any time, and have an excellent safety record. They are also enthusiastic members of the 'considerate contractors' scheme'.

Parts of the school will be able to be accessed via corridors either side of the hall, and the hall will have doors that open out onto a landscaped area at the front. At the back of the hall will be a dedicated studio that can be used for specific purposes such as music.

All work, heating, lighting, acoustics, finishes etc will be to the highest standard. Mrs Cox, Mr. Bell and myself will have weekly meetings with the contractors and regular meetings with the project team. We will provide extensive, and ongoing, communication, including newsletters, frequent blogs on the website and displays. Apollo will have input to this communication and we, with Apollo, will involve the children at every opportunity so that they can learn from this unique experience. This will include comprehensive education about health & safety within the school site.

This is only a brief summary of what will happen and, as I said, we will provide detailed and frequent updates. I will be in the playground regularly if you want to talk to me, or you can telephone me on 020 8876 9531, or email me at hcjames@tiscali.co.uk. During this time it is inevitable that there is going to be some disruption to normal school life and we, along with Apollo, will try and keep that to an absolute minimum; but at the end of it we will have the most exciting school in the borough… and beyond!

Harry James
Chair of Governors