Dunbar Grammar school is holding a ‘Doors Open Day’ on 26th January to celebrate the completion of a £10.38m extension to the school.
The whole community will have the chance to see the results of this multi-million pound investment at the open day.
Past and present pupils and staff and members of the community are invited to come along on Saturday 26 January (10am-1pm) to see the transformation brought about by the new spaces. Pupils will give tours of the full school and musical performances will be taking place throughout the day. S5/S6 pupils are running coffee shop from the new social space to raise funds for their World Challenge trip to Morocco. Meanwhile the new all-weather astroturf pitch will be put to good use with hockey matches between Senior, S1, S2 and S3 teams competing against Preston Lodge teams.
Dunbar Grammar School’s Head Teacher Claire Slowther said: “We wanted to create an opportunity where students past and present, their families and members of the community could come and have a look at our new school. Our students will lead the event, which enforces the importance of the school as part of our community.”
The L-shaped extension includes a Home Economics department with a training kitchen, a new learning resource centre, classrooms, pupil support suite and offices, as well as a full-sized all weather sports pitch outside. At its heart is a bright and modern social hub with a grab and go snack bar and ‘bleacher’ style seating, which gives pupils a place to meet, eat and socialise at break times. The home economics rooms run alongside this area with a servery hatch so that pupils can hone their catering skills on their peers and, the school hopes in future, invited community groups. Alterations were also made in the existing building to provide new science labs, drama studios, technologies rooms and modern languages classrooms.
East Lothian Council’s Cabinet Spokesperson for Education, Councillor Shamin Akhtar, said: “Pupils and staff were consulted and involved throughout the design process and I think this shows in the finished building. The spaces have been designed to create new opportunities that enhance learning, providing pupils with high quality education and experiences that they will benefit from. It's great to hear from the pupils about the positive impact this is already having. I’m really pleased that the whole community will have the chance to see the results of this multi-million pound investment at the open day.”
Construction was undertaken in phases starting in October 2017. The project team and contractors worked closely with the schools’ management and staff to minimise disruption on the curriculum and ensure a safe environment. The extension was procured via the existing PPP contract with Innovate East Lothian and constructed by FES Support Services.
