New canteen questions and answers

New canteen at HGS
Questions and answers


Q1) A lot of money has been invested into the new school dining facilities. Why did you decide that this would be the best area to upgrade with the funding rather than investing in new computers or sports facilities?
A1)Most of the money for the dining facilities came from North Yorkshire County Council following our bid. As such we could not have spent this money on other things. It was “special” money for a special purpose.

Q2) What improvements do you think the new canteen has made to break and lunch times for students?
A2)The Hub has led to more seats and a reduced queuing time. The acoustics are better and it is light and airy. We also have another facility for meetings and hope soon to install a projector.

Q3) How did you decide where to allocate the further funding that will be spent on 8 new classrooms, an extension of the sixth form block and a purpose built learning theatre?
A3)Again the Sixth form block money is “special” money, this time from the Government via the Learning and Skills Council. We worked with our architects to design a building that would blend with the rest of the school and give us some facilities that we do not currently have – namely the learning theatre, the hospitality suite and the media suite. We will also be able to replace the temporary buildings around school and improve the car-parking facilities.

Q4) How do you think this will benefit the students and staff?
A4)Better facilities will improve students learning opportunities and make the school a more attractive place for students and staff.

Q5) When will the new building work commence? When is it anticipated that the building work will be completed? How will you make sure this deadline is met?
A5)The building work will start in October and be completed in time for the Autumn term 2010. We will work very closely with our architects and project manager to make sure we are finished on time with regular progress meetings with the construction company.


Q6) Have you found overseeing these additional constructions a heavy workload, as well as managing the rest of the school?
A6)The building projects have taken up a lot of time to plan, but we know the benefits will be worth the extra efforts we have needed to make.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Best wishes for your project.
Steve Howell, School Business Manager
Harrogate Grammar School, Arthurs Avenue, Harrogate, HG2 0D
01423 531127
sgh.staff@hgs.n-yorks.sch.uk