Excitement At New Denholm Primary School Designs
Friday, February 2 2007
There was a real buzz in the air as the plans for the new Denholm Primary School were unveiled yesterday. Pupils, parents, locals, members of staff, supply teachers, ex-members of staff, Councillors, architects and members of the project team from Scottish Borders Council (SBC) attended the event in Denholm Village Hall.
The crowd enjoyed a virtual walk-through of the design, looked at drawings, pictures and photographs on laptop computers and could see and touch a 3D concept model of the actual building.
Project Manager, Jeremy Snodgrass, said “Ray Cherry, our Architect on this project, has been solely responsible for this superb
design and felt it was important to provide a walk through of the plan. We wanted to give a realistic impression and encourage
people to see a real building and imagine themselves in it. We have been in contact with the User group throughout the many
different design stages and have listened to the needs and desires of all concerned.”
Jeanette Gordon, Headteacher said “The staff are absolutely delighted with the plans for the new School. It has been a long and challenging journey since the fire at our school last April. We have spent many months reflecting on what we have lost and so, almost a year on, we are very excited that we can start looking forward to a new state of the art school. The reaction from pupils has been ‘wow’ and it is fantastic for them to see how their rebuilt school will look and the facilities it will offer them.
We have been very impressed with our project manager, Jeremy Snodgrass, and architect, Ray Cherry, who have been very supportive. Ray has managed to capture our hopes and aspirations for the school and has successfully created a unique learning environment, which provides a new dimension for the community of Denholm.”
Councillor Gordon Edgar, Portfolio Holder for Technical Services watched in awe and said “This is an excellent presentation
which is very user-friendly for all ages. It is very inviting for young pupils to experience what it might be like to walk
through their new school and gives local people a great opportunity to understand what went into the planning process. It
also shows how the building will blend into the local environment. The staff and parents have been involved throughout the
process and I note that there is a comments box here today for people to share their views with us.”
He continued “I was in the Council building when the fire was reported last year and have taken great interest in watching the progress of the plans to rebuild. I am amazed at how quickly this process has been moved on and am delighted that the children and staff of Denholm Primary can now focus on the building project and getting back to their permanent base.”
Preliminary works will begin in the wooded area in April 2007, with the main building work planned for the end of summer 2007. The school should be ready for occupation in August 2008.
Geoff Leask, a parent who lives in Riverside Drive, alongside the school said “I feel the building of the school will put the heart back into the village. I am very interested in how the design will fit into the landscape and how it will integrate with community events.”
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