A newly opened music suite and sixth form centre built at an historic county school by a leading Midlands construction firm is music to the ears of fundraisers who raised an “amazing” £1 million in less than a year to pay for the project. Adams’ Grammar School Headmaster Michael Barratt praised the teamwork of the Campaign Board – a group of willing volunteers of parents, governors, ex-pupils – in raising the funds and contractors McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd for completing the four month development on time for the start of the new school year.
The construction team from McPhillips converted a disused 17th century Coach House into a much needed music centre with classrooms, four practice rooms, and an ensemble room with built-in acoustics for recording. The school’s original Performing Arts Centre was converted into the new sixth form centre with a bistro, soft seating social area, office, tutor room, learning space with tutorial rooms and a lecture theatre.
A special ceremony to celebrate the opening will be held next month for donors and organisers who launched the “Our Dreams – Your Future” campaign in September 2012. A second phase of further improvements to the school is planned in January 2014 with campaigners aiming to raise further funds for a second wing, foyer and auditorium in the Music and Performing Arts Centre. Adams’ Grammar School was founded in
1656 by local benefactor and Haberdasher William Adams and has over 800 pupils, including 100 boarders and 300 sixth formers.
The school, which remains to this day closely involved with the Haberdashers’ Company made its appeal for funds a year ago.
It was answered by past and present parents, former pupils, suppliers and governors with over half of the target being achieved before the campaign was even formally launched. The Shropshire construction company’s joint Managing Director Peter McPhillips said: “We carry out a lot of construction work in schools but we are very proud to have played our part in providing such up to date facilities in one of our county’s most historic schools. My hat goes off to them for their amazing fund raising.”
McPhillips are a civil engineering and building contractor based on Hortonwood in Telford and employ 250 people from the Telford area. They are currently undertaking the design and build of a new 1,100 sq m children’s nursery and after school club in Lawley, Telford, and completed landslip clearance and ground stabilisation works to re-open Jiggers Bank road near Ironbridge in July 2013.
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