A SIGNIFICANT milestone was reached in the construction of a new £30 million building at Dormers Wells High School when a ‘Topping Out’ ceremony took place last week.
Students and staff alike celebrated as Ealing Council’s top brass came out for the event on Friday (November 4), along with representatives from Future Ealing, the local education partnership for the borough.
Topping out is the term commonly used when the last beam is placed at the top of a building or its overall structure is completed.
A hefty 850 lorry loads of concrete were used for the project, along with 30 lorry loads of steel. Building work began in February and it is hoped the site will be ready for staff and students to move into it next summer, with room for 500 more pupils.
Mary Aylott, headteacher at the school said: “It’s been wonderful watching our new building take shape over the last seven months. The staff and students are really looking forward to the summer when we can finally move in and start our outstanding school’s next chapter.”
Once finished, the building will include a new sixth form area, library, a hearing impaired unit and new suites for subjects like IT and business studies. There will also be sports facilities with two football pitches, a cricket pitch, high jump and running track.
Councillor Julian Bell, leader at Ealing Council said: “The new school building is taking shape at an impressive rate. It’s amazing to think that we stood on this very spot just eight months ago for the groundbreaking ceremony.
“I’m so pleased for everyone involved. They should be proud of their achievements and the hard work is really starting to pay off.”
The project is part of Ealing Council’s reduced Building Schools For The Future scheme.
