Completed works

This year has been exceptionally busy with a number of upgrades to the site including creating some new teaching space.

We have a new pupil support hub, bringing together our health centre and individual needs and support services under one roof in a central location for both the Prep and Senior School. This complete refurbishment of an existing building has already shown its worth with over 400 pupil visits within the first half term of the centre being open.

Music department relocation and peripatetic (peri) music rooms. The music department moved out of the Joyce Grenfell Centre to the Close, which is attached to Stable Court, formerly occupied by the health centre and facilities. The move provides spacious peri music rooms and more natural light and space in a centralised location near to both the Senior and Prep School.

Conversion in the mansion basement from office to a new classroom space (Bursar’s and finance, HR and Bursar’s PA’s Office) Despite being on 97acre grounds, space is actually rather tight at Claremont Fan Court School. The majority of our site is green belt, limiting the school’s space for new buildings. To continue to develop our site as the school grows, we have identified innovative solutions to create more teaching spaces. This year saw a big reshuffle of support staff to free-up two large rooms in the mansion basement which have now been converted into Classrooms.

For a long time, our pupils have requested we have a fitness facility and finally, over the summer break, a space was identified in the sports hall and the room refurbished and fitted with the latest in cardio and strength and conditioning equipment. This new fitness suite helps with our pupils physical and mental wellbeing, as well as sports teams on-field performances.

Feeding over 1,300 people a day has been a challenge in the existing dining hall of the Joyce Grenfell Centre. Work started in the summer break and has been running over the winter term to create a new £800,000 dining facility in the single storey section of the Joyce Grenfell Centre, the space vacated by the music department. The interior space has been gutted, with partition walls removed to create a large dining space in close proximity to the existing kitchen, which has also been upgraded at the same time. We opened the new dining space earlier this month and it is a brilliant addition for the whole school, not only during lunch, but as a spacious sixth form study space.