15/04/11 - Pupils celebrate at Bishop Hooper C of E School

Two bus loads of children made the short journey from their current school in Caynham to the location of their new school in Ashford Carbonell. There they were met by the site team, the Bishop Hooper, members of Shropshire Council and Parish Councillor Bob Tilt.

Throughout the hour long ceremony the Bishop Hooper blessed the first piece of sedum roof, which was after taken to the roof and laid for all spectators to see. The children sang a hymn ‘Everybody’s Building’ and read prayers before a time capsule which had been donated by Cadbury World and filled with items such as photographs, newspapers and DVDs was buried in the grounds of their new school. Two pupils from the school informed spectators of the contents of the time capsule and its significance.

Les Oliver, Contracts Manager, Thomas Vale Construction commented: “It has been great to watch the pupils become involved with the construction of their new school from the start. Thomas Vale are very proud to be part of this exciting project to provide these pupils with a new and more sustainable school.”

To close the ceremony each child released a balloon to celebrate the creation of their new school.

The new school which will have high environmental credentials and local building materials will be used throughout the project. Designed to save energy by using triple glazed windows the new school will feature larger improved facilities including 4 class rooms, an amphitheatre which will be used for outdoor drama, grass sports pitch, all weather games area, a wildflower meadow and an orchard.

Following the amalgamation of Caynham and Ashford Carbonell Primary Schools in September 2009, the new £2.3 million school will initially hold the current 73 pupils aged 5-11 years but will have the capacity to hold 120 pupils ready to meet local needs for the next 30 years.

Leela Cottey, Project Manager for Shropshire Council commented: “This is a flagship project for Shropshire Council and we have a fantastic team working together, creating a school that will provide an inspiring educational environment for generations of local children. The project has been progressing well on site despite the extremely harsh winter - it is a credit to all involved and it’s great to see the pupils here on such a beautiful sunny day celebrating their new school. As well as the efforts the project team to reach this significant stage of the project, it is also important to recognise the hard work and dedication of local residents via the Ashford Carbonell Reference Group that has been crucial in ensuring that the project will be an asset to the school and wider community.”

The building will achieve a Very Good BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating. The renewable technologies used within this build are a timber frame structure with provides better design flexibility, decreases the duration of the build and is better value for money; a bio mass boiler which has almost zero carbon emissions, a reliable source of heat throughout the year and significantly reduces energy costs; natural ventilation which reduces construction and operating costs and improves the indoor environment; and a sedum roof reduces storm water run off and encourages natural habitat creation.