Whilst we constantly maintain, update and refurbish our school site on an annual basis, it is some years (11 in fact) since the last large-scale redevelopment at The Beacon. Time then to change that, and as a result we have submitted a significant planning application for the redevelopment of White Cottage. Though currently rented out privately, previously this was the Head’s House and the plan is to raze this property and build, in its place, a purpose-built Early Years facility that would accommodate Nursery and Reception age children. Modern building techniques coupled with contemporary learning and play environments for young people would make this the pre-eminent Early Years setting anywhere, and build on the superb work of our colleagues in Nursery and Reception. Logistically, any build would have negligible impact on the day-to-day running of the school as the area is not currently used for educational purposes; financially, The Beacon has substantial reserves and has no need to take out any financial instrument to cover the cost of such a project. You can view the application HERE and, particularly if you have an HP6 postcode, you can support the project with a comment HERE.
This week’s column may now start sounding like an educational shopping spree, but I will also take this opportunity to announce that the Governors have agreed to support an extensive drainage installation on Willsfield. We have tolerated most weathers but the constant rain during January rendered our clay-based pitches unplayable and this is simply not viable going forward, particularly for a school that is so proud of its sporting reputation and pedigree. This is a large scale project, involving the extensive digging of channels and laying of pipework, and it will be completed in two stages across an eighteen month period to allow for only limited interruption to our games and fixtures provision. The work will start this June and, when finished, will provide year round perfect playing surfaces for all of our grass-based sports. ‘Fixtures cancelled’ will absolutely be one less email in email inboxes going forward.
The vision for The Beacon is very simple; we aim to be the very best example of prep school provision in the country. If we identify an area of the school where that is not the case, we invest and rectify. In areas where we feel confident we have achieved the very best, we look at what extra opportunities this provides for our children. Our ambition knows no bounds…
Nick Baker