On Monday 12 January, a significant milestone was marked with the burial of a time capsule at the site of the newly expanded and relocated Fred Nicholson School. The school is moving from its current location in Dereham to a new site on Lynn Road, Swaffham, to better accommodate its growing number of pupils.
The expansion will create 27 new school places for early years and infant school (Key Stage 1) children. The new building is three-storeys with 17 main classrooms, dedicated areas for sixth form and specialist teaching areas for life skills, sensory immersion and sensory and physical development. The relocated school is due to open in spring.
The ceremony was attended by children from Fred Nicholson and their teachers alongside local construction company R G Carter, design partner colleagues from NPS, and officers from Norfolk County Council, which is funding and commissioning the new school.
Each class created a personalised collage to place in the time capsule. Collages contained handprints, poems, self-portraits and fond school memories and anecdotes.
Councillor Penny Carpenter, cabinet member for Children’s Services at Norfolk County Council said: “As we mark another exciting milestone in the relocation of this much needed school, we move one step closer to completion and the pupils being able to move into this modern and accessible building.
“The new and improved school is part of our commitment to ensure children and young people in Norfolk flourish.”
Heidi Philpott, Headteacher of Fred Nicholson School, said: Our whole school community is energised and preparing for our forthcoming move. Teaching teams are working especially hard ensuring we continue to deliver our purposeful curriculum whilst packing and sorting resources. Everyone is excited and counting down the weeks until we have our new school. Lots of planning is in place to ensure a smooth transition for pupils, families and staff.
Alex Mackay, Director and General Manager at R G Carter said: ”We have thoroughly enjoyed our visits to site from the pupils of Fred Nicholson School as their new bespoke educational home has progressed. By presenting them with this time capsule, we hope they can preserve cherished memories of this exciting time and create new ones for the future. We look forward to handing over this new SEND school very soon, ready for pupils to start enjoying and gaining the very best education possible.”
Cllr William Nunn, local member for Swaffham, said: “Burying this time capsule at Fred Nicholson School is an exciting moment in the school’s journey. It’s wonderful to think that future students will one day unearth this piece of the school’s history. We’re getting ever closer to the completed project, and I can’t wait to see it all come to life.”
This new school is part of Norfolk County Council’s multi million pound Local First Inclusion (LFI) programme. LFI’s aim is that every child thrives wherever they learn, with the support they need to be happy, healthy, and reach their potential and building strong foundations for adult life. Most children will learn in well-supported mainstream schools or specialist resource bases (SRBs), while those with the most complex needs will attend special schools like Fred Nicolson.
In the last five years Norfolk County Council has:
- Built three new special schools creating a combined 358 new school places
- Expanded existing special schools to create a further 289 new school places
This is a 41% increase in the number of special school places in Norfolk.
Learn more about R G Carter’s expertise in Education including SEND provision here: https://www.rgcarter-construction.co.uk/sector/education-2/
