Topping Off the New Build at Tring School
Friday 9 July saw the Topping Off ceremony on the roof of Tring School’s fabulous £30m new build project. The event was attended by the Mayor of Tring, Christopher Townsend, who said some very complimentary words in front of a number of students, the school project team and the Chair of Governors.
The project to construct the three-storey building commenced in April 2020 and progress has been rapid and very exciting to watch. Construction is by Bowmer + Kirkland and will be one of the most sustainably designed built schools in the country. It will also have additional facilities to support the pastoral care and emotional well-being of the students. A local benefactor committed to fund expanded sports facilities to encourage more participation in physical activity and exercise.
The inside of the building is even more impressive than the exterior. The classrooms, laboratories and all of the other teaching rooms are very spacious with large windows to allow maximum natural light. The corridors and stairwells are surprisingly wide. The large dining room is an atrium at the heart of the school. The four-court sports hall is larger than a normal school facility in order to meet the Sport England specification for a number of sports at national level. The activity studio is equally impressive and includes a large skylight to allow natural light to flood in. The Sixth Form Centre on the third floor enjoys a fantastic view towards Tring Park and Wendover Woods. Much of the mechanical and electrical equipment is already in place along with miles and miles of cabling. It truly is very impressive to see everything coming together and it’s making the many, many months of detailed planning and designing time well spent.
Every single teaching space will benefit from new and high quality ICT equipment. The front of the new building will be significantly further back from the road thus reducing the impact on the local community; this has been a key element in the exterior design and landscaping.
The project is on schedule for the school to move into the brilliant new facilities ready for the start of the new term in January 2022. After that the original school will be demolished to be replaced by a carefully designed and landscaped car parking area of greater capacity than the school currently has, together with shelter for students, coach parking and parental drop off zone. This final phase of the project will be completed in July 2022.
The new school building will be fantastic for the children, the staff and the entire community of Tring. The school is already considered outstanding in many areas and the new building with so many new and innovative facilities will take it to another level.