Returning to school for the Spring Term, the visual changes to the new building were more subtle than dramatic; the exterior has become familiar to us and “belongs”. Internally, however, much progress has been made with internal walls in place and, as half term approaches, most are now plastered. The broad central corridors, with the junctions to access corridors having splayed rather than right angled corners, the high ceilings and spacious feel continue to impress all who visit.

The first fix mechanical and electrical works are progressing. The installation of windows on both the ground and first floors is well advanced, and the arrival of curtain walling for the area linking the new building to the Creighton Modern Foreign Languages corridor is eagerly anticipated. The landscaping of the Creighton Courtyard has begun and the space already promises to be a safe and attractive space for students to spend time outdoors.

The new building mainly comprises Science labs, Technology, ICT and RS rooms. Much time has been spent by the design team planning the fixed furniture layouts for these and ensuring that high quality, durable equipment is in place without breaking the budget by the end of Phase 1! And then of course there is the interior design: floor coverings, colour on walls and paintwork, choice of doors, etc. Staff and students have been consulted and their opinions taken into account at each decision making stage.

Work to ensure that a state of the art IT network will come on stream seamlessly next September has also been progressing. We have a dedicated team working to ensure that we will have a modern and robust system that will stand the test of time, yet sufficiently flexible to allow for the upgrades and changes that will inevitably come in the future.

Other crucial planning currently taking place is for the “decant” of departments into their new locations. In one case preparing for the Phase 2 works involves moving a department to temporary accommodation until their new space is completed. Each of the four phases must be planned for in good time to ensure that staff and students are not disrupted. The busy life of the school must, and will, go on unimpeded. In this regard, we must commend our main contractor, Border Construction Limited, for the consideration they have shown to date in respecting our need for quiet during exam times and other school activities.

Looking forward to next month, as well as continuing the window installations, work on site will include ongoing drainage works, works to Creighton Courtyard, wall cladding fascias and gutters, facing brickwork and blockwork, internal plastering and metal stud partitions to the ground floor, first fix mechanical and electrical works and the installation of penthouse louvres and louvres to the plant room.

Over the course of this term it has been amazing to watch the new building evolve from a giant steel skeleton into a really striking building. The roof is now on, external blockwork and brickwork have progressed well, despite inevitable rain delays, and we now eagerly await the imminent arrival of the ground floor windows; those for the first floor will follow around six weeks later. The internal walls are now up and for the first time we can see the proportions of the classrooms - these and the wide central corridor are receiving much favourable comment. Overall the programme is running slightly ahead of schedule.

For the first time some of our students have had an opportunity to visit the new block. On Tuesday, 17th November the Geography Department organised for a group of Year 8 & 9 students to be given a tour as part of the Gifted & Talented programme. The students were given a talk on the work done by Border Construction, and have been given a choice of essays to complete about how buildings can improve City Centres. Prizes of book tokens will be given to the best submissions from each year group. The pieces of work produced along with photographs will go to make up another display in the Geography Department. On Thursday, 19th November Peter Conway, Managing Director of Border Construction, welcomed on site 24 members of Trinity School's senior student leadership team, including the Head Boy and Head Girl. As well as looking over the new building, the students were keen to learn about how ecological and environmental factors had influenced its design, and particularly what measures had been taken to reduce its carbon footprint. To this end, Tim Davies, representing the mechanical and electrical sub-contractors Waterman Business Services, made an excellent presentation; a lively Q & A session followed.

Over the course of the next month, the roof will be fully in place. The ground floor slab will be laid across the whole phase and concrete staircases will go in throughout the building. It will take two weeks to insert the first floor decking.

Work continues at pace with procuring the ICT, fixed furniture and fittings, and landscape. Currently all the work is up to time and progressing really well.

Something begins to take shape …the structure of the new Science, Technology and ICT block at the back of the Creighton building grows by the day. In spite of some pretty wet weather, building work has gone well and it is very encouraging to see the shape, and indeed the size of this new building. It is on time and should be ready for us to use in September 2010.

We are hoping to get the roof on this week and some external brickwork will commence. From next Monday the first floor will be being installed, this work will take approximately a week and a half and will be quite noisy as the metal girders have to be welded.

The view from the back windows has now changed considerably. Border have worked very hard over the last couple of weeks. The Quiet Room has now gone and Diane Rome drove the big digger with great delight!

Over the summer there we will be lots going on: the drains are going to be laid, the foundations and then on 24 August the steelwork will be erected. Some modifications for the HI and work to fire doors will also be carried out.

After almost two years of intensive planning the builders finally arrived to start work on Saturday 23rd May. They worked speedily and very efficiently to make sure that all the necessary enabling work was complete so that the school could open again after half term. This work involved the setting up of the compound area and the sealing off of some areas of the school so that work can take place there. New fire exits were built, walls constructed, ICT moved, services sorted and so on.

As well as those from Border Construction, many of our own staff worked hard to get the school ready again after half term. The MFL department had to move out of three rooms, for example, and the site staff had much shifting and cleaning work to do. We are very grateful to all of those staff who were involved in this first stage of the rebuild.

Now that the first phase is under way we will soon see the new science and technology building take shape and look forward to moving into it for the start of the 2010/11 academic year.

Friday 22nd May was our official ‘cutting of the first turf’ and I hope that you saw the lovely coverage of that in the paper. We re-enacted the ceremony from 1938, where a young school-boy (whose name we have been told is George Stephenson) dug the soil for the beginning of the building of The Creighton and Margaret Sewell schools. We asked the youngest students in the school, born towards the end of August and in Year 7 now, to start the process. We also involved Brian Armstrong, the Chair of Governors and representatives of Border Construction. The current House Captains, and the Head Boy (Tom Short) and the Head Girl (Laura Johnston) from last year who have been so involved in the project with the school’s staff, also took part.