Monkton says goodbye to the Art & DT building as it’ s fenced in for an extreme makeover!
Monkton Combe School have started an exciting new development at the Senior School that will see its creative Art & DT facility have a complete restructure. The work that started over half term is scheduled for completion by September. The Art & DT block is currently too small for the large numbers of pupils consistently choosing Art, DT and photography and the Art Department is especially tight on space with the need for storage, drying and display areas. With this in mind the School has decided to extend the current building by almost 50% floor area, and to substantially improve it’s visual appearance.
Principal, Richard Backhouse, commented, “Art and Design Technology are subjects which have, over recent years, undergone a marked increase in popularity with pupils at Monkton. The numbers of pupils choosing these subjects at GCSE and A Level is currently around 40%, and this is expected to increase further. The new Art & DT Centre will not only be of immediate benefit to our current pupils but it will also represent a substantial investment in the lives of the many hundreds of young people who will come to the Senior School in the years ahead.”
The new building will provide a large multi-purpose exhibition area in the main foyer, plus a much improved configuration of space for the various creative subjects, as Tim Hardisty, Head of Art & Photography explains, “The new facilitiy will enable us to be much more flexible and creative, in terms of teaching opportunities and progress through the Art School. With dedicated areas for print-making, textiles, photography and CAD, the pupils can really develop skills to their full potential.”