New Sixth Form

New Sixth Form Centre

A beautiful new building with state of the art learning and social spaces, and a taste of university

As the first step in our new 10-year development plan we are very excited that planning approval has been obtained to build a new two-storey building positioned to the rear of the Library for our Sixth Form students to enjoy the best possible learning and social spaces. The end result will be a beautiful building that will have its own distinct identity but which, nevertheless, harmonises with existing school architecture.

The new facilities

The new building will provide nine classrooms, a lecture/performance space, offices relating to Sixth Form life and Higher Education, a café, study areas and general social/work space. The guiding design principle has been to create a building which anticipates the feel of a university and we have also incorporated feedback from students, a process which will be ongoing as we turn our attention to furniture and other fittings.

The new facility will be a very significant enhancement of the space dedicated to the Sixth Form and will allow us to accommodate students much more comfortably and appropriately. It will have the benefit of enabling us to develop the work we do with Abingdon School and it also allows us to look again at the existing Sixth Form Centre and consider how that might be re-purposed in the future as part of this next decade’s estate plan.

A consequence of the new building’s location means that there will be limited disruption to current students’ experience during its construction and the existing Sixth Form Centre will remain in use until such time as the new building is ready to open. No teaching spaces will be compromised during this development.

View of new building and quad to rear of Library

Flexible hall

The building process

We are working with TSH Architects who have been responsible for a number of striking new developments for schools in the area. There are many steps to go through during a project such as this. Obviously things can change, although the team at St Helen and St Katharine has a fine track record in bringing complex projects together.

We are also excited about the landscaping plan which will deliver a new quad, bounded on three sides by the new Sixth Form Centre and the Library and which also creates a private Sixth Form garden at the rear of the building. The project landscape architect, Adams Habermehl, will also work on a number of other areas across the site including; the main entrance and staff car park, the route into school between the sports and science buildings and the main quad in the centre of school.

The architects have been mindful of environmental impact in designing this building and it will feature an air source heat pump (ASHP) thereby avoiding additional use of fossil fuels (gas).

Café foyer

First floor classroom

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

New Sixth Form Centre

A beautiful new building with state of the art learning and social spaces, and a taste of university

The new facilities

The building process