DRAPERS' ACADEMY: KING'S WOOD NORTH BLOCK IS DEMOLISHED: 1 FEBRUARY



Looking south-east from Settle Road, King's Wood North Block is virtually gone.  Work on the foundations of the new Drapers' Academy buildings starts shortly

Past Master James Devereux, the Drapers' Academy governor leading on the newbuild, sent me a view of the North Building site taken while he was visiting the school on Tuesday.

A demolition site may not be the picture with the greatest amount of interest to the casual reader of this blog.  But to those who have been following the story of the Academy new-build from the time that Michael Gove called in the project for review in July last year, only weeks before contract sign-off - now called Gove Tuesday in the academy movement, this view of a cleared site marks the end of the beginning. 

The Great Crested Newt

Work will now start on creating the foundations and structure of the new buildings.  There will also be a huge earth moving project to landscape the site to create better playing fields and ground source heat pump system to give the Academy a large measure of energy self-sufficiency. With the latter works we have to look after our Great Crested Newts and make sure they come to no harm.  A colony of this increasingly rare species lives on the edge of the playing fields. In the words of the law it is an offence to, 'Intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place used for shelter or protection by a Great Crested Newt.'  To avoid this will require some very complicated earth moving activity.  But compared with other problems we have faced I am sure this is manageable.

Just over four terms, and under seventeen months, before the new buildings are open.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY OPENING PARTY 7 SEP

Drapers' Academy really got started on 7 September with a day of celebration before the term got underway on Wednesday. The afternoon saw a party for the children and families betwen midday and 3pm. Over three hundred people came. I am having difficulties in the remote part of Wiltshire getting images squeezed through the internet so a full description will have to wait until this is sorted out.

The party well under way

Colonel Mike Bryant, Deputy Lieutenant
London Borough of Havering and Colonel North East London Army Cadet Force with prefects

At 6.30pm there was another party to invite all those who had helped the Academy come into being. This not only included many of the staff but also local representatives and, of course, contingents from the Drapers' Company and Queen Mary. It was also great to see the newly appointed head girl and boy and the prefects with their families. The new uniforms looked great and seem to have gone down well.

Jane, Lady Dalton, Past Master Sir Geoffrey
Dalton and Nadia, Lady Jackson

Susan Jackson who has been with us
for the last two years mentoring and managing the Drapers' Academy programme. We are very grateful for all she has done for us.

Short speeches of welcome were made by myself, in the joint capacity of Master Draper and Chair of Governors, Professor Morag Shiach, Vice Chair of Governors from Queen Mary, and finally Councillor Michael White, Leader of Council. Matthew Slater the Principal gave a spirited introduction. It concluded with my giving a presentation from the Company to buy a clavicord and this was followed by the ceremonial cutting of a huge Drapers' Academy     cake and a toast to the success of the Academy.

Cllr Michael White, Leader
Havering Council and
myself

After a huge amount of preparation by Sue Monk, Vice Principal (Inclusion and Learning) and many helpers the whole day went off exceptionally well. The levels of interest, support and enthusiasm towards the Academy are highly gratifying and we now have high expectations to live up to.

Matthew Slater and a member of staff with very young recruit

A small disappointment was that the prefects had to hand in their badges of office at the end of the party to be re-awarded at assembly the next day.

Cllr Keth Wells, Gooshays Ward, Past Master and Academy Governor James Devereux and Liveryman Dr Colette Bowe, past Chair of Queen Mary Council. 

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Prefects and cake

A LITTLE CRISIS AT DRAPERS' ACADEMY

I was informed yesterday that Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, has decided to put the new-build of Drapers' Academy, Harold Hill (it's near Romford in Essex) up for review because of the current government spending crisis.

This is unwelcome news. I am Chair of the Drapers' Academy project and with three other members of the Company: James Devereux (a Past Master), Alan Morris (Liveryman) and Stephen Beharrell (Liveryman) as well as great team from Queen Mary University of London led by Prof Morag Shiach and a senior management team headed up by our Principal, Matthew Slater, we have been working for nearly two years on this project. And I must mention the huge support we have had from London Borough of Havering from the Leader of Council, Michael White, downwards, especially David Tomlinson and John Farry, and our teams of advisers from Cambridge Education and EC Harris.

The new buildings are going to be one of the crowning glories of Drapers' Academy (Go तोhttp://www.drapersacademy.com/ to find out more). We are now within eight weeks of financial close, so this news is a real blow.

But in the immortal words of Lance Corporal Jones of Dad's Army, 'Don't panic.' We have started lobbying hard and the local MP, Angela Watkinson, has already given her support. We have a meeting tomorrow afternoon at the Academy Shop on Harold Hill to discuss tactics.

More about Drapers' Academy over some of the next few posts.