In 2014 the demand for places at BCS was high, yet the 1969 building had been showing signs of stress for several years. The building was single glazed, cold in winter and hot in the summer. With a flat roof, we often had problems with leaks; buckets in classrooms and corridors after a heavy downpour were a common sight. Several classrooms had staff and children from other classes walking through them every day as the old open-plan layout lacked corridors. Children in our school council raised problems with the toilets on a regular basis. Staff were frustrated with the constraints of the building, wanting to deliver an exciting curriculum and yet being limited by the available space and poor facilities.
Due to local demand for school places, the government offered a chance to expand the school to 3 form entry and a grant enabled us to rebuild, with a focus on exciting new teaching spaces, both inside and out!