The brand new Grange School Sixth Form Centre has welcomed its first cohort of students.
The happy buzz of the sixth form students that now fills the facility has brought to reality the purpose of the building as a place for thinking, communicating, learning and, occasionally, relaxing.
Light and airy, it is one of those spaces that make you feel better just by being in it. A quote from Nelson Mandela is writ large on a wall next to the expansive glass frontage: “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” It is part mission statement, part inspiration.
Sitting in the atrium at one of the many circular tables, upper sixth student Alex Gabathuler said: “It’s great to have a space of our own. It provides an excellent balance between social and work areas.”
Deputy head girl Katy Frith, also in the upper sixth, added: “Having our own café allows for flexibility to fit our social time around our timetable, especially the enrichment programme. It’s also great having members of the sixth form senior team on hand to assist with any advice, especially concerning our UCAS applications.”
The purpose-built centre, designed by Richard Eves Architects and built by Whitfield and Brown, accommodates more than 200 sixth form students, providing a café and common room, quiet work rooms, classrooms and seminar rooms, and a dedicated careers area. Standing in an enclosed area of the Grange Senior School site, the new facility provides a strong sense of sixth form identity while remaining an integral part of the wider school.
The Grange Senior School Sixth Form Centre open day is on Saturday, September 27, from 9am-1pm.
