Green Light for Gresham’s Sixth Form development

Planning Permission has been granted for the development of a new Sixth Form and Music Building and for significant improvements to four boarding houses at Gresham’s School in Holt, Norfolk.

The project, designed by LSI Architects, will provide a new music school, to replace the existing music teaching areas, and fantastic new facilities for the practice, teaching and performance of music, while at the same time providing a new focal point within the school.

The two-storey music building development, costing £5m, includes classrooms, music practice rooms, a recording studio, a 140 seat auditorium that will be used as a Sixth Form lecture theatre as well as performing space, cafeteria and social spaces for pupils.

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Four boarding houses will be the subject of much improvement with permanent extensions planned for Crossways, Kenwyn, Edinburgh and Britten.  The extensions will enable Gresham’s School to provide first class facilities for its boarders within a comfortable and enjoyable home from home environment.   The extensions will also create better space and accommodation provision for boarding staff.

Douglas Robb, Gresham’s School Headmaster, said: “I, together with the pupils, staff and Governors are very excited about the forthcoming developments here at Gresham’s School.  We’ll be able to provide first class equipment and facilities and a wonderful focal point for the school.”

“Equally, it’s important that we offer our boarders a place that they can call home while they are at Gresham’s School.  The extensions and planned improvements to four of our boarding houses will ensure that the houses continue to be welcoming, homely and comfortable for existing pupils and those looking to join Gresham’s in the future”.

LSI Partner, Partner Rupert Kitchen added: “Music plays a significant role in the daily life of a large proportion of pupils at Gresham’s Senior School, at various different academic levels.  This, as well as the fact that Gresham’s School became an All-Steinway School in November 2012, means that it is important for the school to provide students with the best equipment and facilities possible for the study of music.  The creation of the new music and sixth form building will go a long way towards achieving this goal.

The design of the new sixth form and music school building compliments the existing buildings surrounding the site and retains the essence of Gresham’s School, while at the same time, allowing the new music and sixth form building to have its own personality within the campus.”

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Work on building the new Sixth Form and Music Block is scheduled to start in April 2016 and improvements to the boarding houses are expected to get underway in July 2016.