Week 3 - The building structure arrives!

Seeing the massive crane towering over the site at the back of the school this week has made this one of the highlights of the week. Huge steel girders are currently laying on the ground ready to be craned into place to form the skeleton of the building. As I left school this evening there were 2 cranes framed against the darkening evening sky looking very impressive. I know when the structure goes up then it will really start to take shape and the students will have the evidence of their own eyes to prove that it is happening!!

The pathways for the curriculum have now been agreed and have taken into account student requests and needs. The prospectus will go to print within the next week and I look forward to handing out the finished version at the Sixth Form Open evening on Thursday 4th November. The students at the school are asking me increasingly more questions about the plans for next year .... I think for all of us it is becoming a reality and there is more excitement about the opportunities we will be able to offer. In the student survey I conducted last week, one student commented about his positive feelings about the Sixth Form by saying that he 'wanted to be part of something new' - sums up what so many of us are feeling!!

Week 2

Week Two...

... and the foundations of the new sixth form building are nearly completed. We have organised some year 11 students to take regular / weekly photographs of the build until it is finished. I will then create a short film from these photographs so that we will have an 'instant' building appearing on site! I think that will look amazing as a record of the historic event of the opening of the Sixth Form. The site Manager, Mr James Batty, is working hard overseeing the work and is very clearly running a tight and efficient project. The sight of the wealth of machinery on the premises has been very interesting.

Year 11 students are currently completing 'intentions' forms for me so that I can ensure, as far as possible, that we are offering the right courses for the students. There seems to be a great deal of interest in a potential dress code for the sixth form - this should be agreed with students and staff and I anticipate that it will be acceptable to all of us! ... it will certainly not be a uniform!

The builders have started!

It has been very exciting to come into the school this week and see the builders on site. The field has now gone and the deep trenches in the ground for the pipe work are clearly visible. The contractors have established themselves on site and the machinery is extensive. Every day more progress is evidenced and it is amazing to think that this time next year we will be having the official opening of the sixth form. Seeing the work happening is making it feel real for the first time. I have put the architect's plans on my office notice board and these sketches are now becoming a reality. It is a delight to see the centre beginning to take shape. I am also working on the prospectus and planning for the Sixth Form Open evening in November. Regular photographs of the site's progress will be uploaded as this will become a detailed record of the events this year. With the students now back in school I can involve them more fully in the events and plans. The future is beginning to take shape.