11 December 2018
Work to completely remodel St Mary’s Primary School, which retains the historic parts of the building while creating a modern learning environment, will begin in January.
Education Minister Senator Tracey Vallois is visiting St Mary’s School to view the plans this week. Parents and parishioners are also invited to open afternoons, at the school, this Thursday and Friday.
The project, which has been designed by the Jersey Property Holdings architecture team, will involve a new nursery, a new roof for the hall, upgrade of all facilities, breakout areas, a parent room, larger classrooms and new connecting corridors between the three listed blocks.
There is currently a standalone house in the middle of the site and this will be incorporated into the school, adding extra space for education. The oldest part of St Mary’s School dates to 1901. It has been enlarged gradually over a number of years, with additional rooms added in 1929, the 1950s and again in the 1970s
Senator Vallois said: “St Mary’s School is very much at the heart of the parish community but the buildings are long overdue for an upgrade. A new building will create huge opportunities for the staff and the children. This is also a significant investment for families of the parish and opens up new and exciting learning opportunities.”
The construction will be in four phases over the next two years. Once the £6.5 million project is complete, the school will be able to open a new nursery class. Discussions have taken place with the Parish authorities and tenants of the community centre next door with a view to developing new services that could significantly improve the support for families.
Head teacher Maria Stegenwalner said: “It is hoped that building work at the school will start in January. It is a really exciting venture, which will see the refurbishment of the original and older parts of the building and the restoration of some of the original features. From the front, the building will look the same, but behind it will be a modern new school.
“The work will be done in several phases, and we are working with the Connétable to make sure that parish life is disrupted as little as possible during this time. The first phase will be setting up a building compound on the school side of the playing field, and the first piece of work is to replace the roof on the hall at the back of the school. The compound will have an entrance/exit onto La Verte Rue, and all the building resources will be stored on-site.”
St Mary’s School is holding two open afternoons for parents, parishioners and members of the public who would like to view the plans.
The open afternoons will take place on Thursday 13 December, between 2.15pm and 3.30pm, and on Friday 14 December, between 11.30am and 1.30pm.
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