The 150 Building

This outstanding modern building at the heart of our school campus will provide West Buckland pupils of all ages with some remarkable facilities:

For the Preparatory School:

A dedicated, well-equipped Art classroom for our younger children;
The new Theatre will also serve as our Preparatory School Hall.

These features of The 150 Building will release space in the Langholme building for other purposes so that we can develop provision for our younger children in many ways.

For Art & Design in the Senior School:

Two superb Art & Design classrooms;
Dedicated Studio for Sixth Form artists;
Print workshop for textiles, etching, silk screen printing and lithographs;
Photographic darkroom;
Kiln.

For Design Technology in the Senior School:

Two dedicated Design Technology classrooms allowing for work employing a wide range of technologies and materials;
IT Suite for a full class together with CAD/CAM facilities.

Additionally The 150 Building will provide:

Theatre and Drama Studio accommodating an audience of 120 with additional seating in a gallery. It will include a Green Room and good back stage and technical facilities. (As well as being the major teaching, rehearsal and performance space for the school, this will also serve as the Preparatory School Hall).
Courtyard which will provide a most attractive social area for children with covered seating.

One of the aims of the architects is to provide a link between the impressive stone buildings of the main facade of the school and the Preparatory School. The building will be constructed to very high standards with a firm commitment to sustainability both in materials and in energy use. The quality of this building makes a clear statement about the importance of design in our everyday lives and in the education of our students. This will be a building of major architectural significance.

The project will cost in the region of £4.8 million. It will be funded by a combination of donations, support from the West Buckland School Foundation, support from grant making trusts, loans and other sources. The school already has pledges for over £3 million. Construction will begin in March 2009 and pupils will be using the facilities in the Spring Term 2010.

The construction of The 150 Building will require the demolition of some buildings which are reaching the end of their useful lives. The art & design department, ‘the chocolate box’, the design technology workshop, the library, the learning support department and two English classrooms will all be demolished by January 2009. When the project is complete, the English classrooms will be relocated to the existing Globelink Drama Studio, enabling that department to be organised in a more coherent fashion. While the project is underway, Art & Design and Design Technology are being taught in temporary accommodation. New library and independent learning facilities have already been created in the upper floor of the Sixth Form Centre and the viewing gallery of the old gym.

Every effort is being made to ensure that the life of the school continues as normally as possible and, of course, that the education we provide for our students is not compromised.