F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N P L E A S E C O N T A C T
L E I S A L A V E N D E R M B E
Director of Development King’s Hall School & King’s College
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“ Today we have
a responsibility
to perpetuate
these wonderful
schools for future
generations.”
S A F E G U A R D I N G T H E F U T U R E
King’s Hall School and King’s College are special places today because of bold decisions and sacrifices made in the past. We owe a great debt to the vision of those who came before us. The facilities we enjoy were painstakingly created over many decades by people who refused to sit still and rest on their laurels. Today we have a responsibility to do the same: to perpetuate these lovely schools for future generations.
Life always moves on, and so does education. King’s Hall and King’s College need to be shaped today so they are fit for the world tomorrow.
Our vision for
2020
.
“ An exciting direction for the
future development and
continued success of our schools.”
King’s Hall School, Taunton founded 14th September 1952
King’s College, Taunton founded 26th October 1880
P L A I N L Y , O U R S C H O O L S A R E F L O U R I S H I N G
This is the right time to channel all our energy into new developments to enrich our pupils’ future. Ultimately the spirit of the schools is the most important thing, rooted in the tradition of boarding excellence and the Christian framework of the Woodard community of schools. Like a person, this spirit must be nurtured in a physical structure. The schools’ facilities are the equivalent of their body, and similarly they need to be renewed, kept vigorous and healthy, and indeed developed and improved.
This is why we have developed a 2020 Vision, a clear roadmap of how we want to enhance the schools over the coming years. These planned developments will be the foundation of our vision, renewing our purpose and spirit, and they will safeguard the life of our schools into the future. Our vision is an ambitious one and will rely on the goodwill of many members of our past and present community. We very much hope you will feel able to join with us to enrich the future of King’s Hall and King’s College.
An ambitious vision.
“ Our aim is to deliver a rich education,
founded on our Christian values,
to prepare our pupils for the future.”
R O G E R K N I G H T O B E Custos, King’s Schools, Taunton
W H Y W E C A N N O T S T A N D S T I L L
The purpose of King’s Hall and King’s College is to provide an education of all round excellence: an education, in the richest sense of the word, designed to prepare each pupil for success and personal fulfilment. The best possible academic results are just the start. Our aim is to engender wonder and excitement and an enthusiasm for learning, underpinned by the living community and the pastoral care within which our pupils feel safe, happy, loved and valued. However, some parts of both schools will begin to feel the strain, as rising pupil numbers mean an increase in wear and tear. As technology develops apace, we must keep up to equip our pupils for the modern world.
Our sports and performing arts need to be enhanced to give all pupils the opportunity to excel. These facilities will encourage different kinds of intelligence and perspectives, in turn augmenting academic understanding. It is these aspects of the schools, in addition to the core academic teaching, that our ongoing developments are designed to support and enhance. We need to tackle these issues now, otherwise it will become increasingly difficult to improve the quality of what we do. Even at a time when both schools are thriving with academic, sporting and cultural successes, renewal and improvement are an absolute priority.
The Development Board
In recognition of the importance of wise, balanced development plans, we will be establishing a Development Board to guide and oversee the implementation of the 2020 Vision during the next decade.
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At King’s Hall we have inherited a fine set of buildings and facilities in a wonderful setting, testament to the vision and generosity of those who have gone before us. In recent years we have added significantly to them.
We have purchased additional land at the front of the school allowing us to create a sweeping vista, an additional playing field and gain access to wildlife lakes. Similarly, at the side of the school we have bought fields that have enabled us to increase our sports pitches and enlarge our Forest School. We have also benefited immensely from the development of the sports hall, theatre and astroturf pitch.
King’s Hall School, Taunton.
“ A new state of the art
teaching space will transform
the learning environment at
King’s Hall School.”
J U S T I N C H I P P E N D A L E Headmaster, King’s Hall School and Old Aluredian
Now, however, there is a desire to modernise the learning environment for academic subjects. A new suite of bright, airy, modern and bespoke classrooms would be a
transformational addition to the heart of the school, with the powerful knock-on effect of freeing up other spaces and creating a whole new focus in the school’s landscape.
Our planned new state of the art teaching space will unite currently separate parts of the school, while enabling the teaching of design technology, art and science to take a giant leap forward in advanced new facilities.
A covered corridor adjoining the building will become one of the school’s central passageways, providing a new focal point for the life and energy of our school community.
£2.5m
The total cost of the King’s Hall School development programme is estimated at £2.5m and is planned to include the following areas:
Art, Design Technology, Science & New Classrooms
New Music Facilities Pre-Prep Classroom Entrance
Design Technology & Science
This new classroom and laboratory building in the academic heart of the school will be on two storeys and have a specification beyond that which is required by the DfES. The two teaching wings will be staggered to create an outlook on to the courtyards, and the west facing spaces will have longer views. The wide corridor will act like an indoor street with natural light and ventilation, and will connect to the main courtyard space at the entrance to the building.
New Music Facilities
The space vacated when design technology and art move to their new rooms will be upgraded to provide new music classrooms and facilities. With the inclusion of larger teaching and performance spaces, the new Music School will provide a more cohesive and inspirational centre for teaching and learning music.
Pre-Prep Classroom Entrance
The third key development is the refurbishing of the entrance to the Pre-Prep classrooms and a new surface on the walled hard play area. The existing agricultural storage buildings will be upgraded to provide a new main entrance to the Pre-Prep department with reception, office and administration areas.
King’s Hall School, Taunton.
Regeneration plans for state of
the art teaching facilities, music
studios and the new entrance hall.
Art, Design Technology, Science & New Classrooms
New Music Facilities Pre-Prep Classroom Entrance
At King’s College a decade of development has seen the completion of new boarding houses, the construction of a world-class hockey facility, and the Philip Richards Building, which provides a new library, IT suite, Careers Department and Business Education Faculty. These have all added hugely to the school, and the Philip Richards Building in particular has given our academic credentials a strong boost.
Now, having made great progress on the academic front in recent years, we need to pay similar attention to our sports, performing arts and girls’ boarding facilities. This will ensure we maintain our all-round strengths and demonstrate the central role that girls play in the school.
King’s College, Taunton.
“The Philip Richards Building is
an exemplary academic centre.
We now need to focus on our
sports, performing arts and girls’
boarding facilities.”
R I C H A R D B I G G S Headmaster, King’s College
The core development we are planning is a stunning new sports centre which will bring together the existing sports hall and separate swimming pool into one modern leisure centre while also offering a wonderful view out over our world-class astroturf pitches. It will not only dramatically expand our sporting facilities but also showcase our remarkable sporting achievements, providing an inspirational training environment for our young sportsmen and women.
This flagship development is supported by other plans too, each one taking what we already have and working intelligently with it. Put together, the developments in our recent past and future plans clearly demonstrate our priorities: excellence across the board - academic, sport, music, drama, art and design technology; co-curricular activities that enable pupils to develop skills and confidence; and a wonderful supportive community.
£6.0m
The total cost of the King’s College development programme is estimated at £6.0m and is planned to include the following projects:
Sports Centre Performing Arts Centre Girls’ Boarding Facilities
Sports Centre
Although the existing Gooderham sports hall and swimming pool buildings sit side by side, they do not share any facilities. The proposal is to construct a new administrative, dance and social link between them. The building will house a dance studio, new changing rooms, a fitness suite and a new pavilion elevated above the sports pitches, and will become the hub of the main sporting activities in the school. It will enhance the current programme of public engagement. The intention is also to create a social space, for use by OAs and the rest of the King’s community, with the inclusion of a bar and lounge facility making provision for spectators who come to support our sporting events.
Performing Arts Centre
The proposal is to create a second storey of accommodation in the music school to provide state of the art music teaching rooms and a recording facility, and to extend the building with a new main music recital hall. The new extension would be visible from the main approach to the school and should make a strong architectural and educational statement.
Girls’ Boarding Facilities
The proposal is to relocate the Medical Centre and utilise the existing link building to the back of Hareston (one of the Victorian villas on South Road) and to build a substantial extension to provide study bedrooms and social accommodation for up to 70 girls, together with the house staff and administrative functions.
King’s College, Taunton.
Regeneration plans for the new
sports, performing arts and girls’
boarding facilities.
Sports Centre
Girls’ Boarding Facilities Performing Arts Centre
Y O U R P A R T I N O U R S U C C E S S
We must never forget we are only temporary stewards of these
institutions and we have a responsibility to those who come after us.
King’s Hall and King’s College have always been supported by generous benefactors, usually individuals who have felt a sense of gratitude to the schools that equipped them so well for life. Each building we use is a testament to the wonderful gifts the schools have received in the past. Only through the support of generations of benefactors have the King’s Schools been able to grow and adapt to changing needs.
Today it is equally clear that these developments we have outlined, and which our schools need, cannot be paid for from fee income alone. These projects, like those before them, depend on the goodwill and support of the King’s community: Old Aluredians, Friends of the schools, parents and staff.
With your help we will safeguard the future of King’s Hall School and King’s College.
£8.5m
We must act now to safeguard the future of King’s Hall School and King’s College. We cannot ignore the issues and challenges we face. £8.5m is the estimated cost of the projects we have outlined here.
“These projects, like those before
them, depend on the goodwill and
support of the King’s community.”
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Designed by Briggs & Co, Taunton Printed by Apple Colour, Bristol
F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N P L E A S E C O N T A C T
L E I S A L A V E N D E R M B E
Director of Development King’s Hall School & King’s College
T e l e p h o n e 0 1 8 2 3 3 2 8 2 3 8 l m l a v e n d e r @ k i n g s - t a u n t o n . c o . u k
