Sustaining the School for the Future

At King’s, we all know how fortunate we are to work in such a beautiful environment, which has such an important influence upon our physical and mental well-being.

As Sir Winston Churchill said, “We shape our surroundings; thereafter, they shape us.” At the heart of our strategic pillars of sustainability, community and outreach is the imperative to invest sustainably in our future from both an environmental and financial perspective; this underscores the role each of us plays in celebrating equality, inclusion, and diversity, supporting our pupils and our school for years to come in addition to our work with the wider Worcester community. As part of our continuing programme of improving our facilities in a sustainable way, we have several important infrastructure projects underway at present and we would like to keep everyone up to speed on progress.  

Swimming Pool  

Following archaeological investigations, the swimming pool upgrade project will re-commence next week. This refurbishment will include upgrades to the filtering plant and connected pipework, as well as to the inside of the pool, with a new lining and surrounding pool tiles. Due to the scale of this project and the infrastructure improvements, we expect the pool to be open by Easter.  This will provide a much-improved swimming environment, with industry-leading technology in the filtering system which will ensure that the swimming facilities offered by King’s continue to be the best they can be for years to come. In the meantime, certain pupil groups will continue to benefit from swimming, with lessons taking place at King’s Hawford. We value your patience during this project and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.   

Sixth Form Facilities in School House 

While Phase One of the Sixth Form Centre Project has been progressing well over the summer holidays, the original completion date has had to be moved back due to several factors outside of our control. The contractors were hampered early in the project by protected nesting birds, which has led to unexpected delays. Over the coming weeks, the new areas of student study space, the new café, careers space, and Sixth Form specific changing and lavatory facilities will all gradually be introduced as the building work is completed. These will sit alongside the Lower Years space, which has already been finished. 

Sports fields  

It has been fantastic to see the new netball and tennis courts in full use since before the beginning of term. These have been upgraded to a new state-of-the-art (and very colourful) colour-coded surface within a new enclosure.  

IT Infrastructure  

Over the coming weeks, all pupils at the Senior School will start to see the benefits of the IT network upgrades which were completed over the summer. The replacement fibre network and associated hardware will increase both capacity and speed of internet access into and around the school site, enhancing learning with a vastly improved pupil experience.  

Drama  

To support with our strategic aim of sustainability, we have invested in LED lighting across the whole Foundation estate. Over the summer, installation took place in buildings where the greatest immediate benefit could be seen, such as heavily used areas and the theatre. Over the course of this term, the remaining LED lights will be installed throughout our campuses.  

Transport investment 

You may have noticed an increase in the number of King’s minibuses on the local roads, particularly at school drop-off and collection times. For this year, we have added three new transport routes, increased the size of the school fleet and taken on new drivers. Alongside this, we have introduced a new Student Safe App, the full functionality of which, including GPS tracking, will soon be operational.