Building Saint Kentigern
It has been three years since the Trust Board confirmed the Masterplan for significant development of new, purpose-built facilities and enhancement of current facilities, on the Shore Road Campus and Pakuranga Campus. The growth of Saint Kentigern’s facilities across three campuses has been an ongoing process for over 65 years, keeping pace with continued roll growth and the changing needs of our students and their families.
The Masterplan for our Shore Road Campus which is available to view on our website is the most ambitious building project undertaken to date. Despite the disruptions experienced during the prolonged Auckland lockdown this year and last, work commenced as soon as the restrictions were lifted at Level 3, allowing work to continue with overall development tracking well against expectations.
Specialist Facilities & Senior Boys’ Classrooms – We’re moving in!
We are pleased to report milestone progress on our Shore Road Campus with the practical completion certification received for our Specialist Facilities and Senior Boys’ Classroom building. The building contractor, Aspec Construction Ltd, handed over the possession of these facilities in mid-December 2021, giving us access to set up furniture and equipment for the Specialist Facilities and Senior Boys’ Classrooms and paving the way for students and teachers to start using the facility when Day 1 of Term 1, 2022 commences.
As you head towards the Shore Road campus, the brand-new Specialist Facilities and Senior Boys’ Classrooms are now evident, while the new Girls’ School construction continues to take shape.
The new Senior Boys’ Classroom block houses our Year 8 classrooms on the upper floor, accessed by the wide atrium stairwell. The Year 7 classrooms are on the floor below with access from ground level on the school side of the building. Each floor has ‘break out’ spaces to allow for both social and collaborative work. The large staffroom on the ground level faces out onto the field allowing adequate space for all teaching and administrative staff. This level opens to a large courtyard providing paved recreational space alongside the field for students.
Boys who will be in Year 7 and Year 8 next year will be the first to occupy these classrooms which are light-filled and spacious with decorative wall panels and acoustic ceilings fitted to minimise noise between rooms.
With the senior boys moving to their new classrooms, the refurbishment of the existing Senior School building for the Middle School boys will commence in January 2022 with an anticipated completion date of mid-April 2022.
The new Specialist Facilities will provide significant new amenities for our Junior, Middle and Senior School boys, and our Saint Kentigern girls when they move into the new Girls’ School. It is purpose-built as a centre of excellence for science, arts (visual and performance) and technology (food, hard and soft material), with design input from specialist staff to deliver the most conducive learning environment for our students.
The first floor will be home to Hard Materials, Soft Materials and three Science labs. The top floor will house a further Design room, three Art rooms and three Music classrooms. Each floor will also offer breakout and presentation spaces away from the classrooms. The girls will have a separate entrance to the Specialist Facilities accessed via a covered walkway from the new Girls’ School.
New Girls’ School
Construction of the new Girls’ School is also progressing well with occupation expected to take place in Term 2, 2022.
The new Girls’ School will feature a multi-level, terraced building with its own distinct entrance. The first floor will house the Reception, Senior Leadership offices and large storage areas. With 19 classrooms, each Junior, Middle and Senior school syndicates will occupy a dedicated floor with each level featuring its own unique outdoor recreation area.
The classrooms for Years 1-3 are on the second level, along with their own shared ‘wet area’ for art and design. The staffroom occupies a corner of this floor. Years 4-6 occupy the third level with Years 7-8 on the top floor. These floors will have a shared Library/Learning Commons and break out areas. Like the Senior Boys’ Classroom block, the new Girls’ School will have a distinct atrium that opens from the second to the fourth floor with the multi-use stairwell.
The main field adjacent to the two new buildings is currently partly occupied by the construction site. However, the northern half will be re-turfed and available for use at the start of Term 1, 2022. The southern half will be re-turfed once the construction of the Girls’ School building is completed. It is currently anticipated that the whole field will be available for use in Term 2, 2022.
Other unique features of the Girls’ School include:
- Four outdoor learning spaces tailored for different age groups. The centre piece of the play spaces is the unique Sea Star Climber set on the edge of the field. This is an intricate structure of ropes, nets, spinning disc, rock climbing and hammock swings with a tube slide from the upper level to the ground.
- The Adventure Trail, under cool shady trees, winds up from the Middle School terrace with timber steppers and balance beams, monkey bars and rope climbers add extra challenge and there is a hammock and two basket nests for ‘hanging out’.
- The Guinea Pig Trail will be home to the beloved school guinea pigs with a sitting deck for the girls to visit.
- A raised planting bed to grow vegetables and a timber nature trail that will be decorated by the girls. The Secret Circles are a mix of rocks and timber log seats to hang out or play imaginative games.
New Preschool
Aspec Construction has commenced work on site with an anticipated completion date of late November 2022. The building should be fully operational by mid-January 2023.
The single-storey Preschool building reflects an innovative circular design with a central secure playground for students. The building is designed to sit unobtrusively within the existing mature trees and vegetation.
