OF NEWS
NEW FOLLIES IS GREEN, COMMUNAL AND HAS STATE OF THE ART FACILITIES THAT HIT THE MARK WITH STUDENTS by Katyana Rocker-Cook When the beloved Follyfield was destroyed by fire in the summer of 2012, I admit I harboured a strong feeling that Felsted would never be the same again. Having just left the house to move into Garnetts for my final year, I was devastated to know that I would never again be able to wander in to my old house and continue where I’d left off the previous year. But on the 21 March 2015, I discovered that I could not have been more wrong. The new house, now located in the central block of the school campus alongside Gepp’s, Deacon’s, Stocks’s and Thorne, accommodates 62 girls, with group and double rooms for younger students, and single bedrooms for Years 11 and 12. For pupils in Years 10 and above, the rooms are fitted with en-suite bathrooms, a feature which current pupil Catherine Grant said she was particularly excited about as she no longer has to wait for an entire corridor to finish with the shower, but can use it “whenever I like (within reason)”. Designed by BHM Architects with the spirit of community and family life in mind, the £4.7m project features two spacious common rooms, large kitchenette common rooms on the first and second floors, and an open plan atrium spanning all three floors that gives the entire building a light and expansive atmosphere. Consideration has been made to the environmental impact of the building, and so there is underfloor heating throughout connected to an air source heat pump to maximize its green credentials. Work on the project commenced in August 2013 by Jarvis Contractors and was completed in September 2014, ready for the girls to move in for the new academic year. During the construction process the students were housed in a temporary structure beside the Lord Riche Hall, described by Catherine Grant as “spacious and so lovely inside”. When asked about the new house, Catherine said: “I can’t really remember what I expected of the new house, but as soon as I entered for the first time I was amazed at what I was seeing.” This was a sentiment clearly shared amongst parents, pupils, OFs and visitors at the official opening on 21 March. Each room featured state of the art appliances, modern furniture, and a spacious, airy atmosphere and the pride
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Telis Mistakidis inspires Felstedians at Speech Day in each of the student tour guides was apparent. It was clear that despite losing their beloved original home, both girls and staff were exceptionally pleased with the new house, and were determined to keep that same community spirit and love of Follyfield as before. Housemistress Nicola O’Brien said: “I was delighted to be able to see the whole house easily in the common room, something which we had been unable to do in the temporary accommodation.” She added that this has made it significantly easier for the year groups to intermingle and socialise, something which they have fully embraced by joining forces to “cook, play games, do crafts or prep”. The housemistress said that despite the whole Follies community being incredibly excited about their new home, they were strangely sad to see ‘portafollies’ go as we had a tough but fun two years. Nicola added that this demonstrated the power of a strong community spirit, however unexpected and tough the situation may be. That community spirit and pride in every resident of the new house is a testament to the strength of Follyfield, which reminded me of Nicola’s comments after the tragic fire: “Follies is not just a building, it’s a state of mind”.
OF Telis Mistakidis (c75-80) was the guest of honour at Felsted’s Speech Day on 3 July. Telis is a leading business executive and shareholder at London listed Glencore PLC. He presented prizes to pupils and delivered an inspiring speech to Felstedians on how they can achieve success in their lives after Felsted.
BURRETT TO STEP DOWN AS PREPARATORY SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS IN 2016 Jenny Burrett has decided to step down as head of Felsted Preparatory School after 11 years in the job and 25 years at the school. Jenny will leave the school in August 2016 after years of outstanding service and is moving into a role within education consultancy. Look out for a special feature interview with Jenny in next year’s edition of the OF magazine.
The girls and staff have settled in to their fantastic new house brilliantly and are living proof that home is wherever you make it. RIGHT Jenny Burrett and her sons Mark (left) and Sam (right).
[making a difference] …In numbers 1 Amount raised for Felsted charities in 450th anniversary year – £25,000+ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Amount raised by Charlie Pitcher’s series of endurance feats – £360,000+ Amount raised by Felsted’s Annual Fund since 2010 – £225,000 Donations from OFs and parents to fund Open Bursaries at Felsted School in 2015 – £240,000 Number of people that have access to clean water thanks to Sparkle Malawi – 5,000 + Number of homeless helped by the Felsted Mission in 2015 – 86 Amount raised by Bollywood Evening for the Magic Bus in 2015 – £3,500+ Amount raised by Felsted’s Neon Colour Run to help children in Africa – £15,000+ Amount raised by Sam and Eliz Peck’s Kilimanjaro climb for Bowel Cancer UK – £8,758 Magic Bus employs 200 staff and reaches 450,000 children