Construction work at Yarm School has kicked into high gear during the summer holidays.
Most schools are quieter while pupils are at home during the summer break, but Yarm School is now a hive of activity.
The school is investing a further £6million into its facilities, and builders are on site to finish work on the creation of a new Music School, new boat house and full-sized artificial hockey pitch .
David Dunn, Headmaster at Yarm School, said: “While our team of builders has been hard at work this year, we’ve naturally had to keep disruption to a minimum during term time. Now, they’re really able to intensify their activity to finish work on these fantastic new facilities.”
The school has invested £3million in the creation of a new Music School, which will further enhance the school’s strong reputation for the performing arts. The centre – due to be completed in August – will contain specialist music classrooms, 10 instrumental tuition rooms, a drumming suite and a specialist recording studio. In addition, there will be a 132-seat lecture theatre which will have retractable seating, making it a flexible performance venue.
An additional £2.5million investment has been made to construct a superb new boat house. The ultra-modern boathouse will be on stilts, projecting towards the banks of the River Tees. It will provide a training facility for rowers, changing rooms, offices and a viewing gallery for events on the river and the AstroTurf. It will house up to a dozen boats, including single sculls, fours and eights.
Adjacent to the boathouse will be a new, floodlit, full-sized artificial hockey pitch with the facility to accommodate twelve new tennis courts in the summer months.
Mr Dunn added: “The investment we have made over the past 12 months is significant and will cement our position as a leading school in the country. The areas we have committed funds to highlight our commitment to creating the ‘holistic’ student who is not simply regarded for being good academically but also excels outside of the traditional classroom.”
Plans for the Music School, boathouse and pitch were drawn up by Associated Architects, who also designed the school Yarm’s award-winning Princess Alexandra Auditorium.