£6.5m primary school remodel to start this month

Tuesday 01 January 2019

The two-year project to completely remodel St. Mary’s school for £6.5million will commence this month.

The extensive remodelling plans hopes to retain the historic parts of the existing building whilst creating a modern learning environment.

The plans, put together by Jersey Property Holdings, will see the school get a new nursery, a new roof for the hall and many of its facilities upgraded including breakout areas, a parent room, bigger classrooms and easier access between the school’s three listed blocks.

The oldest part of St. Mary’s school was built in 1901 with extensions to the site added in 1929, the 1950’s and again in the 1970’s.

Education Minister Senator Tracey Vallois visited the school to view the plans last month. Commenting on the project, she 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.

Pictured: The Education Minister says that St. Mary's School is "long overdue for an upgrade".

“This is a significant investment for families of the Parish and opens up new and exciting learning opportunities.”

The construction will take place 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. 

Ahead of building work starting, there has been consultation with the Parish authorities, the nearby community centre as well as parents, other parishioners and members of the public.

Pictured: Building work on the primary school is set to start this month - a project that will take two years and cost £6.5million.

Headteacher 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.”