115 years after Julia Huxley (née Arnold) founded Prior’s Field, former Head Julie Roseblade returned to the Godalming-based school on Friday, formally to open one of its largest ever developments: a state-of-the art centre for Science, Music and Technology.
Named The Arnold Building, after the acclaimed, intellectual Victorian family into which Julia was born – she was a niece of the poet Matthew Arnold and granddaughter of Dr Thomas Arnold, legendary headmaster of Rugby School – the new centre provides 8 additional laboratories and 2 prep rooms fitted to the highest standards, for Science; an 80-seat recital hall, recording studio, dedicated classrooms and practice rooms, all furnished to deliver optimal acoustics, for Music; a purpose-built suite of rooms for Food Technology and an additional 5 general classrooms to benefit other departments and the entire school.
All 440 Prior’s Field pupils, aged 11-18, joined invited guests from the local community, governors, staff, Mrs Roseblade – under whose Headship development plans for the centre were conceived – and current Head Tracy Kirnig, to celebrate the official ribbon cutting.
Also present were representatives of technology company Smart, suppliers to the centre of the latest interactive panels and educational software, placing Prior’s Field as a flagship school in the UK in terms of interactive, student-centred learning.
Mrs Kirnig commented, ‘Prior’s Field has always been an extraordinary, dynamic environment in which to learn, founded on the pioneering spirit of Julia Huxley. To this day, we continue to build on her legacy, to innovate and grasp opportunity; The Arnold Building is testament to this.’