Plans are music to school's ears (From Banbury Cake)

Plans are music to school's ears

2:32pm Thursday 9th July 2009

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A SCHOOL is hoping to celebrate its 350th anniversary by opening a £1.4m music block.

Building work is due to begin in August on a new music block at Henry Box School, in Church Green, Witney, which will include a recording studio and seven rehearsal rooms.

The money has come from Oxfordshire County Council and plans have already been agreed by West Oxfordshire District Council.

Michael Waine, county cabinet member for schools improvement, said: “The Henry Box school is designated a Yamaha Music Learning Centre, which means that its music facilities are used not only by the school, but also by local people.

“The new building will therefore benefit an entire community and will inspire a new generation of students to study music.”

Headteacher Nicola Edmondson said the scheme has been in the pipeline for more than four years.

She said: “We have a long-term development plan for the site. The music block has been a priority because of the poor state of the facilities we have at the moment.

“The idea of the new block was that it would provide not only state-of-the art facilities for our students, but would fit in architecturally with the old buildings. At the same time, it would still be modern, a blend of old and new.”

It will take about a year to finish work and it is hoped that the official opening will coincide with celebrations for the anniversary of the school, which was given to Witney by Henry Box in 1660.

The project will create a purpose-built music faculty building, with three music rooms, an ensemble room, seven practice rooms, a recording studio and a base for music faculty staff.

Current music facilities for the school are housed in the Grade II listed former Witney police station, which is on the school site, with some lessons taking place in the old detention cells.

Due to the popularity of the subject at the school, these classrooms are now too small for the number of music students.

The lack of modern facilities and equipment also restrict the breadth and diversity of the music curriculum being offered.

A pre-fab building, along with a 50-year-old pavilion, will be knocked down to make way for the new block.

The school, which is in a conservation area, is home to two further Grade II listed buildings — The Mary Box building and the former Rectory.

Environmental studies have been carried out to ensure that the location, design and construction of the new building, and the project design, will take into account the nature and history of the site.

A public consultation was held at the school in April to allow local people to view the plans and discuss the project with the architects.

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk

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