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

P AGE N O : 128 Meeting held with Chairman and Head of Northern House, South Parade to discuss ‘matters of mutual interest’ - second meeting scheduled for March 2014 (General Purposes Committee Minutes September 2013). Agents value Northern House site at £4million (£6,400,000 today) In 5 year cash Flow Plan, Bursar calculates that for each year £800,000 (£1,280,000 today) will be needed for refurbishments. Also the new Music School will available for use in 2016/7 and a new Classroom Block will be available for the Autumn Term 2017. (General Purposes Committee Minutes November 2013) Planning permission granted for new Music School scheduled for completion by Autumn 2016 at a cost of £6 million. With the ‘planning permission granted for the Music School, Phase II of the Project, the world-class Concert Hall for the City of Oxford moves a step closer towards becoming a reality’ .(“Chronicle” Autumn 2013). 2014 - The 1960 Modern Languages Building now thought not ideal for modern usage. There are not enough rooms, which are generally too small and not big enough to accommodate the whole department satisfactorily. The low ceilings are not suitable for oral work. In spite of this, the rooms are generally in good order and the notice boards carry examples of colourful pupil work (Education Committee of Governing Body, March 2014) Bursar and Warden present an updated version of ‘The Build Environment 1’ with proposed new Houses being designed for girls not boys. Design shown for new Teaching Block between Cowell’s and current Workblock; this would provide the School with eleven large classrooms. In addition there would be two further phases - constructing a space to replace the current Library and provide a foyer to the New Hall including a cafeteria and a space for parents’ meetings. A third phase would be ‘reordering of the New Hall with the inclusion of a balcony to increase its capacity’. It was noted that moving the current Library to the new building would allow the Senior Common Room to be moved to the Old (Memorial) Library and the space vacated by it could be used to improve and expand the current facility (another ‘Two Project’) Current accommodation for music outlined by the Director of Music and Tim Ronalds (Architects), which confirmed that constraints presently experienced in the old Ferguson Building would be lifted Two tier projects also outlined to provide land training facilities on the main School site for the Boat Club primarily, while also benefitting other constituencies in the School and to build a number of Fives Courts The first of these projects would be a 3-storey construction built into the bank at the bottom of Avenue Field facing the canal (possibly parent funded), the second - a joint venture with Oxford University and various Fives Organisations Other parallel and important projects had been investigated, including the potential for developing the Canal Fields, now thought unlikely to happen given the restrictions in force It was noted that it might suit the School to sell 315 Woodstock Road (All the foregoing in the General Purposes Committee minutes of September 2014) Design work commences on the new Teaching and Library buildings in February, revised in June to incorporate new Assembly Hall (Note from TSH Architects Oct 2019). 2015 - The old ‘Ferguson’ Music School on South Parade demolished to allow for construction on the new facility to commence, also the Music Annexe and the original Rifle Range go the same way (in