13.10.2022
Thornhill Primary School Official Opening
- Pupils open new teaching block that provides ‘community’ and ‘calm’
A hall that “smells like popcorn”, wonderful colours, natural finishes that make children “feel calmer” and spaces that make Thornhill Primary School feel “more like a community” – this was just some of the praise heaped upon a brand-new teaching block by pupils as they helped officially unveil it.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, October 14 marked the opening of the state-of-the-art new building in Houghton Regis, which is the first in Central Bedfordshire to have been built to the highest sustainable Passivhaus standards to deliver super energy efficiency.
Built as part of Central Bedfordshire Council’s New School Places Programme to meet growing demand from the nearby emerging housing developments at Houghton Regis North 1 (the Linmere Development) and Houghton Regis North 2, the new teaching block will allow the school to expand from 210 to 630 pupils.
And children in year groups two to six have been settling into the space on Silver Birch Avenue since the start of term in September, with the new environment already having a positive effect on them.
Deputy Headteacher, Chris Gunning, said: “They really like the space that they’ve got in their new classrooms. They love the colours and they mentioned that we’ve got wood on the ceilings, in our halls and around the doors, which helps them to ‘feel calmer’. It's great that the children notice that it’s making them feel that way.
“A lot of our kids here need support for whatever reason, whether that’s to push them because they’re brilliant learners, or if they need some extra support. Now, we’ve got a building that provides space for us to intervene and help them make more and more progress, which is what we are all about.
“They like that the corridors are much more communal spaces. It gives them a chance to see children in other year groups, which they said feels more like a community.
“We’ve got a school that not only looks fantastic, but is an educational experience in itself, and because of the way the teaching block is designed, we are now an eco-school. We started the Green Flag incentive because we were inspired by the design, so we’d like to thank everyone involved on behalf of all the staff, all the kids and all the parents at our school.”
Central Bedfordshire Council chairman Cllr Gordon Perham did the ceremonial ribbon-cutting honours and said: “It was wonderful to see how enthusiastic, happy and well-behaved the children were and we’re proud that the design of the building has already had such a positive effect on them and that they’ll continue to engage with environmental issues as part of their education.
“As well as its sustainable credentials, this new teaching block was also built as part of Central Bedfordshire Council’s New School Places Programme, which is about creating additional places in areas of demand and emerging housing growth so that children can go to a good local school on their doorstep.
"And the increased capacity at Thornhill Primary School will mean that now and for generations to come more young people will be able to attend and thrive in an environment that enables them to get the most out of their education.”
Also in attendance were Houghton Town Mayor Cllr Yvonne Farrell and Central Bedfordshire Council ward councillors Susan Goodchild (Houghton Hall) and Patrick Hamill (Tithe Farm), plus representatives from Ashe Construction, who built the block, ECD Architects, who designed it, and Lands Improvement, who are behind the nearby Linmere housing development.
John Heaney MCIAT, Project Lead for ECD Architects, said: “It was a real pleasure to be with the local school community, and to see this new building at Thornhill Primary School officially opened to cater for the expanding community in the Linmere housing-led development.
"Designed to ensure it is one of the most energy-efficient primary schools in the country, Central Bedfordshire Council has ensured the local community will have an exceptional learning environment for years to come. I wish all the pupils many years of healthy learning and I hope, as the children grow in the school, they take some inspiration from a building that, in one small step, is helping provide a more sustainable future for them and the generations to come.”
Andrew Morris, Ashe Construction Business Development Director, said: “Central Bedfordshire Council have been visionary in their approach to this new school. To make the investment in a Passivhaus school signals their intention to become a leading force in creating a sustainable future for us all. It was a challenging project but one that has delivered exceptional results, and one that we are very proud to have been involved with.”
Ben Phillips, Linmere Development Director, said: “We are extremely excited by the opening of the Thornhill extension, and we welcome the school as an integral part of the new Linmere community.”
Thornhill Primary School’s new teaching block is arranged around a central playground, overlooked by circulation spaces and a new access deck. A deck wraps the entire two-storey section of the building, providing valuable breakout space for smaller group learning, and connecting teaching with the outside and the surrounding context.
At the heart of the school is a double-height entrance atrium and split-level library, adjacent to the new sports/ dining hall, centralising the facilities, and promoting active learning within a centralised hub.
KEYS HANDED OVER
• Thornhill Primary School were handed the keys to their new state-of-the-art teaching block, in September 2022.
The new block, will increase the capacity from 210 pupils to 630. This will mean Thornhill Primary can meet the future demand for new school places forecast with the emerging housing growth of Houghton Regis North 1 and 2 (the Linmere Development).
From September, when the new academic year begins, the teaching block will accommodate junior school year groups 2 to 6 up to a capacity of 450 pupils, while the existing school building will accommodate infant school year groups from nursery to year 1, with a total capacity of 180 pupils. There is also a nursery for 2–4-year-olds on the current site.
Peter McGann (Ashe), Bernice Waite (Headteacher Thornhill) and Chris Gunning (Deputy Head)
Cllr Sue Clark, Central Bedfordshire Council Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: “We’re delighted that Thornhill Primary will be able to welcome pupils into this brand-new building once they return from their summer holidays in September. Our New School Places programme is about creating additional places in areas of demand like Houghton Regis, so that more children can go to a good local school on their doorstep. I’m sure pupils and staff will look forward to using the new facilities.”
Claire Bryan, Co-Chair of Thornhill Primary School Governors said: "We cannot wait to open up this outstanding space for students at Thornhill in September. Its forward-thinking design will allow us immeasurable opportunities for furthering the children’s awareness around environmental innovations, enriching their educational aspirations and providing boundless benefits to our growing community for future generations.”
The new teaching block for the school is the first in Central Bedfordshire that will be built to the highest sustainable standards using Passivhaus criteria to deliver a super energy-efficient building.
Arranged around a central playground, overlooked by circulation spaces and a new access deck, a deck wraps the entire two-storey section of the building, providing valuable breakout space for smaller group learning, connecting teaching with the outside and the surrounding context.
At the heart of the school is a double-height entrance atrium and split-level library, adjacent to the new sports/ dining hall, centralising the facilities, and promoting active learning within a centralised hub.
Andrew Morris, Ashe Construction Business Development Director, said: “We are delighted to have completed this ground-breaking project, delivering an outstanding educational facility that has achieved the very highest of sustainability credentials, and has been recognised by the Passivhaus Institute as a fully certified building.”
Green Flag Award
26 Aug 2022
Thornhill Primary School in Houghton Regis is among the 15 schools in Central Bedfordshire that have received a ‘Eco-School Green Flag Award’ this summer, marking a huge achievement for embedding sustainable projects across Central Bedfordshire schools.
This past academic year, Central Bedfordshire Council has supported schools by providing advice from a dedicated Sustainability Officer and launching an Eco-Schools forum to help schools share best practice. Applying for an Eco-Schools Green Flag is a way to celebrate and reward the ecological achievements of young people, demonstrating their hard work is appreciated and encouraging them to continue to engage with environmental issues.
Local Housebuilder Donates Wormery to School
July 2022
Soil provides 99% of the food that we consume, but with over-fertilisation and pesticides contaminating the precious resource, the quality of our soil is rapidly degenerating.*
To coincide with
Learn About Composting Day, a local housebuilder has donated a compost wormery to Thornhill Primary School. This is helping to teach the children about composting and enrichment of the quality of soil.
The builders are Barratt David Wilson Homes, now building at the Linmere development of
Betony Meadow in Houghton Regis.
The pupils have since set up the wormery and are enjoying learning about the process of composting.
Worm composting is an efficient method of turning food and garden waste into nutrient-rich compost which can help improve the quality of soil when added in. The worms produce two different types of compost – vermicompost, which looks like traditional fertiliser, and worm tea, which is a liquid fertiliser rich in nutrients and enzymes. Barratt David Wilson North Thames donated the compost wormery, complete with trays for the worms, a sump to collect the worm tea, and a secure lid, so the children of Thornhill Primary School can learn about the worms and the importance of composting.
Marc Woolfe, Head of Sales for Barratt David Wilson North Thames, said, “As a sustainable housebuilder, we always try to support the environment wherever possible. The wormery is an excellent way to produce compost, which will enrich any soil it is applied to and help plant life flourish. We hope the children enjoy feeding the worms and learning about the necessity of good soil and compost.”
Christopher Gunning, Deputy Headteacher at Thornhill Primary School, commented, “The children are really enjoying seeing the worms in action, and thanks to the builders it is a hands-on way for them to experience how organic waste can be turned into compost, and how this compost can benefit our soil to help things grow. As we are part of the Eco-Schools programme, we are delighted to have this new way to help the environment at our school.”
Barratt David Wilson North Thames’ Linmere development hosts multiple wildlife-friendly features such as hedgehog highways, bird and bat boxes and community allotments.
Linmere housebuilder donates defibrillator to local primary school
May 2022
A primary school which is expanding as part of the new Linmere neighbourhood taking shape on the edge of Houghton Regis has been gifted a defibrillator by a housebuilder involved in the project.
Bellway Northern Home Counties, which is building 153 homes at Bellway at Linmere – its first phase of development within the wider Linmere scheme – donated the life-saving device after reaching out to neighbouring Thornhill Primary School.
The defibrillator, which cost just over £1,350 to purchase, has been installed at the school’s main entrance and is now ready to be used in the event of a pupil, staff member or visitor suffering a cardiac arrest.
The school, which caters for children aged from two to 11 years old, currently has around 200 pupils on roll. Capacity will increase to 500 once its new premises, located just 100 metres away from the current school building on Grove Road, are completed in the Autumn.
Chris Gunning, Deputy Headmaster of Thornhill Primary school, said: “Thornhill Primary School are very grateful for the incredibly kind donation of this defibrillator that will be positioned at our school main entrance and intended to serve our local community in the case of a cardiac emergency.
“The fears associated with heart disease of any type are debilitating for those who are directly and indirectly affected by it. It is our hope that for those in this position, the knowledge that there is now local access to this life-saving device will go a long way to settling some of those fears.
“As a school, we are committed to supporting our local community in as many ways as possible and are very appreciative that Bellway homes have made this donation that further enables us to support our pupils, staff, parents and all surrounding families.”
Bellway began construction work at Bellway at Linmere in late 2020 and the first residents have now moved into their homes at the development off Sundon Road. The housebuilder has also started work on a further 154 homes at Linmere Gateway, its second development within the wider Linmere scheme.
Luke Southgate, Sales Director for Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “Linmere is already developing into a thriving neighbourhood where a strong sense of community exists between residents.
“Thornhill Primary School is right at the heart of this community and when the school told us about its desire to have a defibrillator on the premises, we were more than happy to pay for this life-saving piece of equipment.
“We believe a defibrillator is something that every school should have, as it drastically increases the chances of survival should someone suffer a cardiac arrest.”
Once complete, the Linmere neighbourhood will consist of around 5,000 new homes, the expanded Thornhill Primary School, shops, community facilities, and 190 acres of public open space.
To find out more about Thornhill Primary School, visit https://www.thornhill-primary.co.uk/.
For more information about Bellway at Linmere, call 01582 953 878 or visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/northern-home-counties/bellway-at-linmere.
SCHOOL BUILDING UPDATES
8 Apr 2021
Today, at a virtual meeting of Central Bedfordshire Council, Cllr Eugene Ghent said, “At Thornhill Primary School in Houghton Regis the timber frame installation is going well with construction at the second floor, and by the way it's progressing it should be completed by the end of the month. At the end of the month windows are going in and the building is really taking shape ahead of the completion by the end of the summer. So, it's going to look pretty fantastic when it's completed.
“Following DMC's approval for the new secondary school on the Kingsland campus in Houghton Regis the Secretary of State has now ratified the planning approval. We expect site enabling work to commence in the middle of April which includes groundworks for the road, water pipe diversions, and archaeological investigations. So that's moving on apace, now."
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