It's all gone quiet! Or, perhaps not!!

So, what's going on at the school then?

Well, to the casual passer by not much really as its all going on behind the scenes with fitting out of the new build and ripping out the old build in what was the centre and end staircases and over parts of the bridge as it was once known. The new build we have moved into is bearing up under the strain of all the pupils and staff but I personally have a few worries about longevity of fixtures and fittings. I see paintwork being badly scuffed and door hinges getting bent making doors ill fitting and stiff to use. Sections of vinyl flooring seemed to be lifting and I suppose proof was during half term they relaid whole sections in the stairwell. I somehow feel that vinyl as warm and as practical as it can be, just is not up to the wear and tear of the old terrazzo flooring. Remember, at half term that was only six weeks of use!!
Other "problettes" that have appeared are fire/burglar alarm problems and the main front doors which took ages to get to work as they should.

It's that time for pranks again...
 

Every school has it's pranksters and we have our fair number, but of late, the pranks have become serious as well as tedious. For once and for all please spread the word...

THE PRANK OF SETTING OFF A FIRE ALARM IS STUPID!!

The good news is...the new CCTV works well and certain individuals were caught hook line and sinker! The continued use of remote controlled CCTV is a debatable point of which I will not go into here. It is a part of  our society that will, I fear, sadly have to remain as used well, its efficacy is unquestionable!

CCTV - the nerve centre

Finishing off on a high note...

If you look at the funny gurkin shaped structure towards the rear of the school, (Shown above) this is going to be our new Faith Centre. Have you seen the roof?  It is superb!!

It looks like panels of coloured stainless steel with millions of small indentations set into the surface. The effect is to make an iridescent bronze/green hued surface that in the sunshine looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous!! I just wish the same could have been done for the new theatre roof...

Have a good autumn and let's hope it's a dry mild winter!

Moriarty...

The "NEW" School is open for business!

One of the new English rooms

Well we have been open a few days now and as always there are some teething troubles!
Generally, the staff are delighted with the first impressions of their new classrooms/teaching areas, however, their is frustration at some of the ICT element, namely whiteboards and projectors and the time we had before pupils arrived to empty our belongings into the new building was just no where near long enough! We had to keep the students out a day or so longer than originally planned but that time was spent getting everything in order as best we could and learning all the "legal things" like fire, safety, dinner time queues and the like. The logistics are a nightmare to get your head around and due to the nature of the build, is constantly changing as the building work evolves!

First lesson in the "new sch

Areas that have opened  up this week are as follows:
English, Science, History, RE, Health and Social care and the SEN/Learning Zones.

However, these are a few piccies of the new classrooms that are finished and other areas that until now we could not get to to see or take pictures.

An open learning space

One day he will have his own office...

SEN and the Learning Zone

Steelwork for special school

SEN Dept.

A builder friend!

The summer shutdown is coming to an end...

Ok, September is now upon us, its Friday dinner time and school opens to staff on Monday morning! There are contractors EVERYWHERE, painting, fixing the handrails, levelling floors ready for carpeting and what looks like organised chaos rules the day. The difference I saw today from three weeks ago is amazing and you know what? They may just do it!! These are the first pictures of the inside that I have been able to take... lets hope Monday I can show some better ones!

Part of English Area

The back of the new theatre viewed from inside

A main landing passed the server room

More of English

Looking down one of the "voids"

The roof of the theatre viewed from inside from the middle floor

The most important room is nearly finished and its right by my server room!

The openess is every where...

Another classroom coming on...

Six week's holidays...

And they go all around the corner and
into the carpark and all of Regis Road

...and their are that many builders about I struggled to park this morning!
So, the students and staff are off, there is a small skeleton staff on duty, parking is awkward, the electrics are off, then on, then off, again. Servers are being stopped and started and we have all had the big move ready for phase two. Staff have spent the last few weeks boxing up and labelling stuff needed after the move and clearing out all the junk, into skips, of anything not needed again...er, hopefully!

Little boxes...everywhere!

In hindsight, a marvellous 20:20 vision, I still feel, along with many others, that if you have the room, then build a new school and THEN knock the old one down. I suspect it may even be cheaper after listening to some of the horror stories that abound around here...but, then possibly the builders like a laugh and a joke too!

Six weeks to go!

However, I digress. If all goes to plan we should be moving into the first phase of the new building in September, albeit, we will not truthfully be ready. The cabling is in for the computers and I believe, the phones but...no kit is in yet and even if it is put in place by the removal team, we still have to go and make all the necessary connections to complete. Looking at some of the rooms, with only six weeks to go, its impossible to believe we will be moving in...but, I have seen this situation time and again on many a site when I was an Architectural Ironmonger many moons ago. The ammount of work done in the last week always simply amazes me.

Once in, each department will probably need a week to get some sense of order in the respective department as it is all new to them too, so... teaching and learning will be interesting at first!
My only hope is that staff and students alike treat the new build well and embrace it better than the old school and move "onward and upwards!"

Exciting (and stressfull) times ahead...

June is upon us and so came the rain... and the problems!

Faith Centre Steel Work

Whatever happened to "Flaming June"eh? It seems like for years our best weather has always been May/June leading up to a usually damp summer but the rain came early and bought with it some problems!

Now, having, in a former life, worked in the building industry I can safely say no matter how hard you try to prevent problems happening they still happen! We are working/living/learning in a building site and with it comes all the problems associated with refurbishing a building. It's not easy for the contractors, who it has to be said have been golden, but it's not easy for us in school either. Jack hammers, cement mixers, cranes, power drills hammers and the like all make a lot of noise. The dust is horrendous, so, if its hot you have to think twice about opening windows for example!
However, a deluge of rain over the weekend highlighted a problem in the fabric of the building where new joins old and we had a leak!
It culminated with a few stains, a damp carpet in the corridor and sadly, for me in ICT, a soggy computer that no longer works! In fairness to the builders they acted swiftly and plugged the leak and have offered to pay for the repair to the pc, so, all will be good in the end. BUT!! This is not mentioned when we are told we are having a new school being built and you cannot begin to imagine the impending disruption that ensues once the contractors come on site!

Onwards and upwards as they say!

The school is a little behind schedule but, it is really starting to take shape "good and proper" now! We have had sight of our new server room on the first floor of the new build by the main hall and over the holidays BT laid the new fibre optic to this new room for the school broadband feed and another to the temporary server room to keep connectivity all in order. Stephen, my techy, ably supported by James, from E-services, made all the connections and...it did not work!

Theatre roof as seen from above

As it was Friday, they left and had a ponder and a "cunning plan" was hatched! Monday saw a new week, and a commbined effort between us all quickly sorted the problem and all was working within the hour!

So what else is happening?

The newly drained and laid football field

The roof on the new Theatre is ready for its final layer of stainless steel, the new Faith centre steelwork is up and giving a clear hint to its definitive shape and although I have not seen it yet, the new MUGA is painted and looks the part! Generally around site you can see that the size of the new build is enormous taking up most of the "footie field" that used to be infront of the tennis courts and from pictures I have seen, the Football fields behind the old fencing which have had the new drainage installed are now flat and look nice and green. Perhaps now we can have a good game down there in the winter months with out taking a mud bath and chopping the filed up? We will see soon enough! But it looks good...
You can see in the pictures that the inside is starting to take shape as services are being installed and some interior walls define the structure hinting at things to come. Let's not forget... there is still a long way to go before completion and we are nearly one year into the build. It hasn't been easy for anyone concerned and we have just over a year left before it should all be finished.

Will it be worth it? "You betchya!!"

May... storms are upon us!

New Energy Centre Steelwork

Well, we are well into May and work has been gathering pace but frankly from the outside not a lot appears to have been happening, dig deeper and you find that in areas difficult for staff and students to reach we can see things are moving on well!

At the front of school the Energy Centre is progressing well and the steel work is going up. An area has been cleared in what was the garden of rememberance and trees have sadly had to be cut down to accomodate this work. I am assured that a planned replacement planting procedure will happen later in the landscaping period of the build!

Our friendly builder once again keeps us up to speed with what is actually going on...

Theatre Roof

New Meets Old

New Windows

On the Refurb block the fitting of the balconies is complete. This has allowed the windows to be installed, complete with glass. The single ply to the main roof area is complete. The redundant roof light has been in filled and the roof covering taken over the enclosure. The plant support steels have been erected over the former stair area. The timber cladding works have commenced with brackets and insulation. The art/English block roof has had the single ply laid apart from the section adjacent to the faith centre. Finally the roof light frame work has arrived on site and fitting has commenced. The roof light areas have been temporarily weatherproofed in such a way installation of the roof light frame work can continue. The wall between the art room and the swimming pool has been continued, and the external walls erected. The ground floor windows have been installed The first floor the external brickwork has continued at high level, The windows have been installed and glazed.  On GLK windows have been glazed. The retaining walls to the ground floor adjacent to the IWA block has been completed allowing this area of floor slab to be completed including the flight of stairs adjacent to the headmasters study. On the IWA block the window to the ground floor science class room floors have been glazed. The windows on the first and second floors have been installed and glazed. Internal partitioning is 90% complete with boarding to one side. The sample room has progressed but needs final aesthetic alterations before final submission for approval. In both blocks the installation of ventilation ductwork is underway. Lecture Theatre cladding has had the inner liner tray fitted and work is concentrating in forming the curves at the front of the building. Ply wood is being bent to give the final curved shape. The sports pitches have been cultivated and stone picked and seeded. The energy centre main steel frame has been erected. This has allowed the base for the flue to be cast and reinforced concrete ducts for the pipes and cables to commence. On Tettenhall Special School the foundations are complete. Drainage pops are complete to the two brickwork single storey  areas. Preparation for pouring the floor slabs is underway. Main drainage has continued. The big push over the Easter holiday was the installation of ducts and sub mains cable from the energy centre around the front of the school to the rear of the hall. Also we have installed the sub mains cable from the energy centre to the main switch area in the ground floor of the science block. This included pulling pool heating pipes and sprinkler pipes plus water main into Tettenhall. This work cause major logistical issues during the period as it cut off access to 70 % of the building. Central Networks have installed the High Voltage substation plinth in the front service yard.  Transco have installed the gas supply and housing to Tettenhall . We have constructed the water meter pit to Tettenhall. We have been able to commence the construction of the new bell mouth to the service yard. Over the Easter period we installed the permanent partition wall to the main hall and three temporary partitions to the small hall and servery areas.Also we have formed two partitions on the first floor which when the doors are installed will provide a temporary fitness suite.

April and spring is in the air...

School is taking on a new look now as the steel framework is boxed in and the windows start being fixed into place. Our friendly builder gave me some facts:

The inside, looking out, of the new theatre

The building has now started to be enclosed. Key items that are underway are:-

• Roofing works to the IWA block is virtually complete
• Roofing to the General teaching block has commenced
• External walling is progressing well
• Windows have been fitted to all elevations other than the main entrance
• Mechanical and Electrical services have started to be installed
• The lecture theatre cladding has commenced
• A number of the large diameter drains have been installed between Kings and Tettenhall
• We have installed a 700 cu m attenuation tank to control the future run off of surface water.
• Coupled with this we have fitted a petrol/oil interceptor to the main storm outfall sewer.
• Internal partitioning is underway with rooms now taking shape.
• On Tettenhall the foundations have been completed allowing the steel frame to start



Cladding for theatre

• We have also built the brick work on Tettenhall up to the level of the floor slab. This will allow the floor slab to be cast.

Work over the next few weeks include

• Forming new entrances off Regis Road
• Continuing with floor slabs and brickwork to Tettenhall
• Continuing with partitions to Kings
• Erecting the faith centre
• Instantiation of main service routes through the buildings and campus.
• Commencing construction of the energy centre.

School council get first look!

We have had no accidents so far and have worked virtually 60,000 hrs to date.

We have taken the School Council round the site and they were extremely interested asking lots of questions. We have helped out the local allotment holders with free topsoil and wood chippings.

So... we can see that a lot is happening albeit some might say it doesn't appear so! In the coming months when fitting out really gets under way less and less will be visible from outside but, hopefully, we will get some impressive internal shots and our first sight of the new building!

 
On a different note... I am going to ask staff and pupils, past and present, to forward anecdotes of the school. (Keep them clean) I intend to let people do it by email and then I can vet the posts first and hopefully we can have a page of memories that may mean something to some of you... here is the email address:
stories@kings-wton.co.uk


Finally, should we have a caption competition?

"I've had a hard day at the office dear!"

An aerial view of the school

Hi all,
I have just been given a very nice aerial photograpgh of the school taken on a clear day in January showing the extent of work being undertaken on this phase.

If you click on it you can see a larger clearer version...

March 2011 work progressess...

New Art Block

I can't believe a month has gone by already!
Last month, what with the construction of the theatre happening so quickly, made this last months progress appear to be at a snail's pace but, rest assured, work is going on really well. The weather has been somewhat kinder and the cold that stopped the concreting has abated and work has moved forward.

A Carillion spokesman kindly enlightened me as to what has been happening...

Old Coal Hole

"The main steel frame and floor planks are now complete. The lecture theatre steel has been built.  Structural topping has been laid to the majority of the floor planks. Brickwork is under way to the ground floor areas, and SFS (structural framing system) has been installed to the higher floors. The ground floor slab has been cast to the science block, and the art classrooms.
 Installation of windows is about to commence along with containment for cables etc.
 The electricity cables have been lowered to the new entrances in Regis Road.
 On Tettenhall (The New Special School) the foundations have been cast to 50% of the area.  Main drainage has commenced from the rear of phase 2 to the Tettenhall Side of the Denise Lewis Gym.
 The re-grading of the football pitches has been carried out using the excavated material from the main building. The wet weather has stopped the installation of the land drainage to the pitches though and is waiting on dryer weather...."

Last saw light of day in 1955

So... as you can see it has been all go!

My thanks to Carillion for the update and allowing me to photograph the site from afar! Sadly, the downside of the progress is that there are now less and less vantage points to take good photographs!

Until next month....
Moriarty...
P.s. Heres a timelapse video of the temporary classrooms being installed ...

February and a new month starts - an update...

The new Theatre

Well quite a bit has happened since my last post. The builders have been blessed with reasonable weather and they have made the most of it!
Plenty of steel work has gone up on the structure adjacent to the main hall and only yesterday, (1st Feb 2011) they seemed to construct, what I believe is going to be, the new theatre in a matter of hours!

Old footie pitch by the tennis courts

Some of the walls have been constructed in the new build beside the old art rooms (now ICT) and if you were to walk around the back of the Denise Lewis Sports Hall (Down by the tennis courts) you can see a lot of excavation work has been happening in readiness for the work to start on the new Tettenhall Wood Special School.
So...all in all, work is moving on at quite a pace and hopefully any time lost during the bad snow before christmas will soon be made back up...

The old English staircase

New build adjacent to art and main corridor

Allegedly, europes largest mobile crane!

Temporary accomodation on top yard

 These other pix show work around the site and how the old school is changing. The new facades, shape and texture of the very fabric of the building is being brought bang up to date! Some may say its a change for the worse....some may disagree. As a pupil from the end of the sixties into the early seventies and having worked here since the millenium, I can hand on heart and say in my humble opinion this is good! The school may change but, time marches on and change is inevitable. We almost lost the school completely in 1998 so this is by far and away a better outcome...










Moriarty...

BSF...and what it means for the schools future!

The intended new school

The King's C.E. School - Aspiring for excellence through diversity

The King’s CE School is a  Voluntary Aided Church of England school in a multi cultural, multi faith setting  with a strong commitment to achieving Excellence through Diversity.

As a Specialist Visual Arts College, also designated as a Specialist Sports College with Science, they provide opportunities for academic, creative, sporting and personal development.   The school has achieved the Artsmark Gold award, Sportsmark award, Healthy Schools award and, in 2008, was designated a High Performing Specialist School by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

The Crest above the old stage

The King's C.E School and BSF

As part of the BSF programme, The King’s CE School will be significantly refurbished and will also welcome Tettenhall Wood Special School onto the site. Through BSF, the school has sought to develop facilities and spaces that enable innovative, relevant and challenging teaching and learning.The development of these modern, flexible learning spaces – rich with ICT - will allow every pupil to reach their maximum potential through a mixture of teacher led and independent learning.
The redesign of the King’s CE School also reflects and celebrates the ethos and specialisms of the school and will bring the visual arts, sport and faith into the heart of the school .

https://www.wolverhampton-engage.net/sites/anonymous/BSF/Pages/TheKing%27sCESchool.aspx

The transformation to the Kings C of E School 1998

In 1997,detailed plans were developed for the creation of a new Voluntary Aided School on the site of the previous Regis School, an LEA school serving areas as diverse as Tettenhall and Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton in addition to the villages and suburbs of South Staffordshire.

Having been remarkably successful for the first thirty years of its existence, the school fell from grace in terms of parental confidence in the early 1990s. Following a period of very serious difficulty and lack of investment, the school has, for the past two years, been the subject of a radical and exciting development plan undertaken by the Wolverhampton Education Authority, Lichfield Diocese and the governors of both S. Peter’s Collegiate school, a neighbouring C/E Voluntary Aided School and The Regis School. This followed a series of attempts to rescue Regis School from a number of serious problems which had prompted very real fears of the school failing to meet OFSTED requirements when a team was due to inspect the school during the Spring Term of 1997.

We are strengthened in our efforts by the formation of the Lichfield Foundation Council, a new body chaired by the Bishop of Wolverhampton. We have been grateful for the active support of the National Society whose officers have been very helpful in establishing an Instrument of Government, which fulfils our aspirations for the new school. We are also closely supported by the Association of Anglican School Secondary Headteachers, and the Woodard Corporation whose officers also visit and support ideas.

Our Vision of the Future

A number of key issues are central to the intentions of the promoters of the new school

The school will grow from a present roll of 747 to full capacity of 900, developing a clear and positive identity in the immediate locality, working closely with the range of external bodies and community groups with whom a new relationship has been initiated.
The school will cater for a multi-faith, multi-cultural intake, and, as such, whilst giving very real attention to the needs of children of Church of England families. The school will also cater for families of other faiths who wish their children to be educated within an environment where the name of God is hallowed.
The school will quickly establish itself as a centre of quality of provision of learning for the 11-18 age range. In particular, the school has already applied for inclusion within the Specialist College movement as an Arts College, (having raised £100,000 in sponsorship)
Both The King’s School and S. Peter’s Collegiate School will function collaboratively within Foundation partnership, Lichfield Diocese and Wolverhampton LEA to the benefit of all families in Wolverhampton and its environs
The curriculum includes specialised courses leading to GCSE and Advanced Levels of the General Certificate of Education as well as a wide range of GNVQ courses in vocational education including a pilot Part One in Year 10. A House system supports our review and guidance programme which, together with good teaching and an environment of positive achievement, has seen increasingly improved exam results year on year.

The school offers 150 places per year group at Key Stages 3 and 4 and is seeking to provide for its Post 16 numbers by way of partnership with a neighbouring school. Such partnership would be in addition to that of our foundation partners S. Peter’s.

http://www.eteach.com/JobSeekers/RecruiterProfile.aspx?EmpNo=28998

Next posting...BSF and what it means to the schools future!