Sir Harry Smith Community College - Additions and Improvements

Additions and Improvements

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, many improvements and extensions were made to the school's DT, Music, Drama, P.E. and English blocks. On 14 May 2009, the new 'Laurie Richards Community Centre' opened. In recent times a special support unit named after EastEnders actor David Proud, who attended the school, has also been added.

Plans for major refurbishment of most of the school are part of the Fenland Building Schools for the Future scheme. Detailed plans were submitted to Cambridgeshire County Council in February 2011. They included a large extension to accommodate classrooms and Supportive Skills rooms, a spacious modern canteen, and new drama studios on the front of the main building. Other alterations were to be carried out inside, such as the creation of new science laborotories, seminar rooms, and the refurbishment of all existing classrooms. A large overhaul of the heating and electrics was planned too.

Preparatory work commenced in August 2011, and in early September the caretaker's house was demolished. Construction of the new classroom block began shortly after, followed by the refurbishment of four classrooms that were completed by January 2012. Subsequently, other existing areas of the school were closed off and rooms relocated so that all rooms could ultimately be renovated. Major work on the new classroom block was complete by May 2012 and the first new classrooms opened in June. Work on the new canteen was undertaken throughout 2012, being completed in time for the new school year, whilst the new drama block, for which groundworks began in July 2012, opened in December. The front end of the school, incorporating the entrance foyer, reception and administrative departments, was extensively remodelled in order to create a more functional layout.