Ceremony at new Bishop Hooper Primary School

A ceremony is to be held at the site of the new Bishop Hooper CE Primary School this Friday (8 April) at 11am to mark the completion of the first part of the building work for the new school building.

The new Bishop Hooper CE Primary School opened in September 2009 after the amalgamation of Caynham and Ashford Carbonell primary schools. The school is temporarily located at the old Caynham Primary School site.

The new school building will replace the former Caynham Primary school building, providing larger, improved facilities for the pupils and the local community. The new school building will incorporate many energy efficiency measures, including a biomass heating system. Work is due to be completed by this autumn.

The ceremony will see a piece of turf being blessed and presented to contractors Thomas Vale by Bishop Hooper, to enable them to begin the turfing of the living roof.

Headteacher Kerri Phelps will then introduce a special song and prayers by pupils, before a time capsule is buried.

Children from the school will then release balloons to celebrate the creation of their new school.

The scheme for the new school, on the northern edge of Ashford Carbonell, includes:

• Four classes.
• Grass sports pitch and all weather multi-games area.
• Small amphitheatre for outdoor drama and performance.
• Garden, wildflower meadow and orchard.

It also incorporates the privately-run Butterflies nursery.

Kerri Phelps, Headteacher of Bishop Hooper Primary School, said:

“The whole school community is incredibly excited that the new school is beginning to take shape. We have all been involved in the design from the earliest stages and are looking forward to the time when we can move in to our wonderful new facilities. The children are going to bury a time capsule, as a record of this special event, on behalf of both the school and local communities.”

Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow South, said:

“I am very pleased to see we are well on track for opening in the autumn. The school incorporates many ideas put forward by our local communities and will provide not only superb education facilities but a lasting legacy for future generations.”

The new school is being constructed on design and build principles by Thomas Vale Construction plc, at a cost of £2.5m.