The outside of the building is currently being clad with bricks, you will be able to see a lot of this going up from the roadside as well as the playground side. All the windows are in and the external doors have been installed.
Inside, the timber is being plaster-boarded and the electric, data cables and power services are all being installed.
Find out more about our school expansion here.
‘The Canopy’ was chosen as the name of the new building because a canopy is a layer of protection that provides shelter and safety to a unique
and diverse ecosystem to enable it to thrive. The Headteaher said: “I believe the meaning behind the name embodies what we do here at our school for our children.”
The buildingworks are progressing well. Now the floors are down, the windows are in and you’ll see the exterior brickwork will rise quickly around the exterior.
Internally, all the rooms are divided where the internal walls will be. The ceilings and walls are due to be boxed in following all the insulation and heating. Currently the team are installing all the electrical and data cables.
The Head Learners will be invited inside the building for a meeting with the Site Manager and they will have their own tour of the site to see how it’s changed since they laid the time capsule.
Vicky Ford MP attended the time capsule ceremony at the school on Friday 24th February. She said: “It was lovely to join the children from Trinity Road Primary School burying their time capsules. They should be extremely proud of what is happening in their school. The expansion of Trinity Road Primary will bring huge benefits to children all across this part of Chelmsford, but also to others across the city as it is so important that we have enough school places for all of our children.”
Vicky Ford added: “I hope that today’s Trinity Road pupils will be able to come back to the school in future years, perhaps with their own children, and remember the happy memories that they have placed in this capsule.”
The headteacher said: “This is the biggest structural change to our school in over 65 years. The school was opened in 1910 and we’re so excited to be able to expand our school community and share our school with more families from September 2023.”
Cllr Marie Goldman, the Deputy Leader of Chelmsford City Council said she’s very proud of the funding and support Chelmsford City Council contributed to this school expansion, adding: “This is such an important project to provide for the education of children in Chelmsford.” The project includes a new building with extra classrooms, all built to a Carbon Net Zero standard, as well as an outdoor all-weather multi-use sports area, a partial internal remodelling and planting of trees and bulbs.
The Chair of Governors for Trinity Road Primary School, Mrs Claire Styles, expressed thanks to the funding councils, contractors, staff, families and neighbours for the support they’ve shown this project. Claire said: “My children are pupils at this school. My children’s great-grandfather was a pupil at this school. This school holds a special place in the hearts of all those generations of pupils who passed through its classrooms.”
“Many more generations of Trinity pupils will receive high quality education here in the safety and comfort of these walls, thanks to the investment into its future we’re commemorating here today.”
“Surrounded now by resilient, compassionate young people who love to learn, each one of us is connected with this school community for as long as this time capsule remains in the ground.”
The school is a local authority maintained primary school. Essex County Council commissioned the demolition of the old 1950’s built HORSA building (kitchen and cantine) to be replaced with a new building that will allow the school to expand from 1.5-form entry to a two-form entry school. Today the school has 315 pupils, all of whom included something to, and signed, the time capsule before it was buried in the foundations of the new building. When the building is completed, there will be a plaque the mark the location of the time capsule for years to come.
Cllr Jill Reeves took part in the time capsule ceremony on behalf of Cllr Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence and Skills. Cllr Reeves shared: “What a wonderful gesture to include all the children in the school in the ceremony.” The Head Boys and girls, Ffion, Ishan, Jessica and Thomas, had the honour of laying the time capsules down, in front of all their schoolmates and teachers, who watched the ceremony from just outside the construction site perimeter.
The construction project, which is due to be completed by December 2023 by the appointed contractors Morgan Sindall, will enable the school to ultimately educate 420 children on the premises.
January has seen a good month of progress on site with works taking place to the new extension area of the school. The main progress in January has been the excavation and pour of the foundations as shown in the pictures, along with the deep drainage works. The substructure brickwork and underground drainage has commenced.
In February, your construction team will continue drainage works, as well as finish the sub-structure brickwork allowing the beam and block floor installation to begin.
By the end of the month, the installation of the SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel System) will begin. The SIPs makes up the primary main structure of the new building. This will be lifted into place via a mobile crane.
The construction team aims to keep all disturbances, noise and dust to a minimum during the construction process and apologise for any inconveniences caused.
As an associate member of the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), Morgan Sindall are committed to the environment and communities in which they work. This includes enhancing our site’s appearance, respecting the community, protecting the environment, securing everyone’s safety and valuing their workforce.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Morgan Sindall office on:
Chelmsford Office — 01245 974040
The project to replace our old 1950’s lunch bar building with a new dining hall with two additional classrooms is progressing well.
Before the holidays, the contractors stripped out the kitchen appliances and equipment and moved them to the temporary kitchen located in the staff car park. The tables were moved into the Lower Hall where lunches are being served while the works are ongoing. They then deconstructed the building, starting with the roof and working down to ground level.
After the holidays, they cleared the site of rubble. The site is now flat and the next stage can begin – the rebuilding!
Find out more about the construction project here on the dedicated School Expansion page.
An additional section of the lower playground at the bottom of the steps to the office will be fenced off on Thursday and Friday.
The pedestrian gate from the car park will still be accessible, but access will be diverted slightly while BT swap overhead cables for underground cables across the school playground this week; this is in preparation for the demolition of the lunchbar.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility at this time.