Community wins from school upgrade

Community wins from school upgrade

An ambitious revamp of Clyde Quay School now underway will improve the playground and also have wins for the community.  Report by Jane O’Loughlin.

Students at Clyde Quay School on Elizabeth Street returned from their summer break to find the school hall had been lifted and shifted to its new location against the northern retaining wall.

“Moving the school hall and refitting it is the first stage of an ambitious reimagining of our school campus, which is one of the smallest in the country,” said Principal Cameron Ross.

“We want to ensure that the students and the community get the most out of this wonderful space, it packs a punch and reflects who we are as a school and community.”

The master planning work started in 2022, and the school fundraising group, Whanau & Friends of Clyde Quay School Inc, raised a portion of funds for these works as part of two successful Taylor Swift raffles last year.   The works were also supported by grants obtained from Lotteries Community Facility Fund, New Zealand Community Trust and TG McCarthy Trust. The school said it had also received generous donations of technical support from Tonkin & Taylor and Studio Pacific Architecture and ‘many other dedicated parents along the way.’

“The school could not have funded these works without this support and the School is immensely grateful to all who have supported the project to date and can’t wait to see this facility used by the community,” Ross said.

The project will mean the former location of the hall will be incorporated into a new multi-sport court to provide dedicated space for students to learn, practice and play a range of sports including futsal, netball, basketball, volleyball etc. 

 Along with needed building upgrades, the relocated hall will be extended slightly to include a kitchen, bathrooms/shower and two breakout teaching spaces. This will allow the school to host a much broader range of school and community events, along with providing an enhanced teaching space when needed and quiet spaces for students to undertake work in small groups.

The programme of works has an estimated completion date of end of term 3.  

More information and plans can be found on the school website.