Building Schools for the Future (BSF)

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Update as at September 2009

The BSF programme at Grey Coat got off to a good start this summer, with refurbishment carried out in both buildings. The focus at St Andrew’s was on new history classrooms, and improved circulation space in one of the worst bottlenecks of the old building, with new toilets and lockers for the students. At St Michael’s the staff accommodation has been improved.

The foundations are currently being dug for the new Arts Block at the St Andrew's site. It is expected that this work, funded by the Governments’ ‘Building Schools for the Future’ project, will take just over a year to complete. The new building will incorporate music, drama and art as well as allowing for theatre and film studies to be taught in a more appropriate environment. This then has a knock-on effect on existing classrooms used for some of these subjects in the main St Andrew's building and also at our upper school building, St Michael's, by freeing up space to improve in other areas.

While the building work is going on, a large temporary building has been set up in the playground at St Andrew’s, to provide kitchen and dining room, music and art rooms for the coming academic year. From now on all staff, students and visitors will enter and leave St Andrew’s by the front door in Greycoat Place.

Headteacher Rachel Allard says, 'The school has been short of space for a very long time and the new block will provide outstanding new facilities for Drama, Music, Film Studies and Art, whilst maximising outdoor space available for PE lessons and extending the dining areas for students.’


What is 'Building Schools for the Future?'
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is a national government initiative to improve schools and bring them up to standard for the modern world. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) describes the vision of BSF as 'working together to create world class, 21st century schools - environments which will inspire learning for decades to come and provide exceptional assets for the whole community'. The aim is to rebuild or renew secondary schools in England over a 10 to 15-year period, beginning in 2005-06. Funds are being made available to local educational authorities in 'waves' for secondary schools in their areas (Westminster is wave 3 out of 15 waves nationally).