Ceremony at new Bishop Hooper school building
Headteacher Kerri Phelps and Bishop Hooper with two children from Bishop Hooper School.
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 saw 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 then introduced a special song and prayers by pupils, before a time capsule was buried.
Children from the school then released 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.”
