A special ceremony was held to mark a milestone in the construction of one of the first schools to be rebuilt as part of Lewisham’s multi-million pound school modernisation programme on 12 May.
The Sedgehill School topping-out ceremony celebrated the completion of the main structure of the building.
The new school, which is being built by Costain Limited, is part of a £210m investment by Lewisham to transform secondary education in the borough through the Building Schools for the Future programme.
Under the scheme, two fully rebuilt schools will open in January 2009 and, over the next few years, a new school will be built and six of the borough’s existing secondary schools will be either rebuilt or refurbished. The Building Schools for the Future programme will also deliver significant ICT investment across all secondary schools in the borough.
With over 1600 students, Sedgehill has the largest number of secondary school pupils in Lewisham. The investment the Council is making in the school will see brand new facilities for the students, supporting the school’s specialism in Performing Arts.
The building was designed by the architects ACP and features include a large, central space for outside performances.
Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, conducted the topping-out ceremony by laying part of the concrete floor plate and was assisted by Sedgehill Year 7 pupil, Sara Stevanovska.
Among the invited guests were: Jim Dowd, MP for Lewisham West, Councillor Robert Massey, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Sedgehill pupils and Headteacher Karen Bastick-Styles and representatives from partner organisations Costain and Lewisham Schools for the Future Local Education Partnership.
Commending the progress of the build, Sir Steve said: “It is absolutely wonderful to see how well this development is going. Our partners are delivering a fantastic new school which has some striking design features that will not only transform the locality but will also provide exceptional learning and teaching facilities."
“Over the next few years, our secondary schools will be completely transformed as part of our massive school modernisation programme. We want to give all Lewisham children and young people the very best start in life by providing state-of-the-art learning environments. We are also supporting our excellent school staff by ensuring they have access to modern teaching facilities."
“Lewisham is committed to investing in our children and young people so that they achieve the very best outcomes and this scheme is a major part of that."
Jeremy Eavis, Education Sector Director for Costain Limited, said: “Costain is delighted to be playing its part in helping Lewisham deliver this exciting new programme. Our focus on the education sector provides us not only with the opportunity to deliver state-of-the-art schools such as this one, but also through these, to give the young people of Lewisham the best opportunities to learn and develop the skills they need to succeed in their working life."
“I would like to pay tribute to the Costain team and our supply chain for their continued determination to deliver these projects in a safe manner.”
Headteacher Karen Bastick-Styles said: “There is a real sense of excitement amongst pupils and staff. Our new school represents an investment in the students – it’s important to us that our young people are educated in the very best learning environment we can provide. This new building will do just that and we cannot wait to move in.”
Sedgehill pupil, Sara Stevanovska, who assisted the Mayor during the ceremony, said: “My school life is going to be so different. It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to being in the new building.”
The new Sedgehill School will open to students in January 2009.