The Building of St Edward's School: A Chronology (1870 - 2020)

P AGE N O : 107 School purchase 44 Oakthorpe Road for £120,000 (£348,000 today) which adjoins the School property. Governors approve the purchase provided that a currently-owned School property is sold at the same time (63 Middle Way or 45 Oakthorpe Road possible candidates) (General Purposes, September 1992) Draft Paper by the Bursar on holiday letting of School property put to Governors, the kitchen re-build would however impose severe restrictions until 1995 (General Purposes, November 1992). 1993 - Beginning in September 1992 and well into 1993, much building work in progress. ‘Demolition and addition, excavations and ‘fillings-in’, stripping and redecorating - mostly around the Kitchens and Common Room School leases for 222 Woodstock Road for two years from 28th June, bid £145,000 (£406,000 today) for 54 Oakthorpe Road. To help pay for these outlays, the School intends to offer 30 Hobson Way (later sold in 1993 for £97,000 - £97,000 today) and 45 Oakthorpe Road (later sold in 1993 for £137,000 - £383,600 today); this leaves only 63 Middle Way as a School property not adjoining the School grounds (General Purposes, June 1993) - Middle Way property sold in 1996 Phase 1 of the Kitchen project completed at a cost of £716,908 (£2,007,342 today) some £61,652 (£172,656 today) lower than estimate, but £20,000 (£56,000 today) has been deferred to Phase 2. The negotiated contract for Phase 2 is £1,003,352 (£2,809,386 today) a figure higher than the March 1992 estimates. The final contract of the total project is now expected to be £1,700,000 (£4,760,000 today) some £71,440 (£200,032 today) in excess of March 1992 estimates (General Purposes, June 1993) School sells the freehold of Mulberry Court and Lodge, part of the Apsley Paddox Estate, for £10,000 (£28,000 today) (Governors’ meeting, June 1993) Warden reviews the original 1990 ‘Ten Year plan’ and the progress made to date. Included is the successful renovation of the Science Laboratories, the purchase of houses adjoining the School for accommodating teachers, a greatly enlarged and improved Common Room, the Warden and Bursar re housed, and the purchase of 279 Woodstock Road for the future use of the Second Master, office accommodation significantly improved. The only outstanding item is the reduction in the size of Boarding Houses (General purposes, September 1993). 1994 - New point of access to the Dining Hall has meant the demolition of M1 and M2 temporary Class Rooms (Divinity and Classics teaching), the creation of a new walled Common Room garden, the building ‘of an elegant’ new Chapel Classroom and office - also the surrounding area completely re landscaped and paved. Estimated costs are £42,500 (£116,875 today) The M1and M2 Classrooms had been erected in 1966, principally for the use of Divinity and Classics teaching Entry to the Dining Hall is now from a northward direction (Autumn 1994 Chronicle) Another new initiative is a second floodlit all-weather pitch on land adjacent to the Fisher Field. Interest from Oxford University is the genesis of this idea with both the School and University possibly sharing costs and use of the Facility (General Purposes, February 1994). O.U.H.C. will play some of their League Hockey on Fisher Field during the 1994/5 season as a pre-cursor to a possible later and greater collaboration (Governors’ Meeting, June 1994) The supervision of the School’s model for girls boarding, Oakthorpe House, is not proving a success. Warden recommends that a Housemistress or the wife of a male master should live at 56 Oakthorpe Road and would be an improvement (Governors’ Meeting, March 1994). Paula Brees assumes the appointment of Housemistress of Oakthorpe House and lives at 56 Oakthorpe Road, which is next to the House (Governors’ Meeting, November 1994). After ‘6 good months’ the question of supervision in this model Girls’ House is again causing concerns, with the resignation of the House Nurse (Governors’ Meeting, February 1995)