Central Bedfordshire Council: Pupils open new school teaching block that provides ‘community’ and ‘calm
Date Added: 19/10/2022
Thornhill Primary School's new addition
A hall that “smells like popcorn”, wonderful colours, natural finishes that make children “feel calmer” and spaces that make Thornhill Primary School feel “more like a community” – this was just some of the praise heaped upon a brand-new teaching block by pupils as they helped officially unveil it.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on has marked the opening of the state-of-the-art new building in Houghton Regis, which is the first in Central Bedfordshire to have been built to the highest sustainable Passivhaus standards to deliver super energy efficiency.
Built as part of Central Bedfordshire Council’s New School Places Programme to meet growing demand from the nearby emerging housing developments at Houghton Regis North 1 (the Linmere Development) and Houghton Regis North 2, the new teaching block will allow the school to expand from 210 to 630 pupils.
And children in year groups two to six have been settling into the space on Silver Birch Avenue since the start of term in September, with the new environment already having a positive effect on them.
Deputy Headteacher, Chris Gunning, said: “They really like the space that they’ve got in their new classrooms. They love the colours and they mentioned that we’ve got wood on the ceilings, in our halls and around the doors, which helps them to ‘feel calmer’. It's great that the children notice that it’s making them feel that way.
“A lot of our kids here need support for whatever reason, whether that’s to push them because they’re brilliant learners, or if they need some extra support. Now, we’ve got a building that provides space for us to intervene and help them make more and more progress, which is what we are all about.
“They like that the corridors are much more communal spaces. It gives them a chance to see children in other year groups, which they said feels more like a community.
“We’ve got a school that not only looks fantastic, but is an educational experience in itself, and because of the way the teaching block is designed, we are now an eco-school. We started the Green Flag incentive because we were inspired by the design, so we’d like to thank everyone involved on behalf of all the staff, all the kids and all the parents at our school.”
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