West Berkshire school is 'topping out' today (Tues)

Denefield School in Tilehurst reaches the milestone in its £9 million project

A £9 million project to build a new science and technology block at Denefield School in Tilehurst has reached the ‘topping out' stage.

Construction work on the state-of-the-art build at the Long Lane school began in July.

All the steelwork is now complete and the building is beginning to take shape, with external cladding being put in place.

Completion of the first phase of the project is anticipated to be May 2012 with full project completion at the end of December 2012.

When finished, the secondary school will have a brand new science and technology block, a multi-use indoor atrium, new sixth form teaching, leisure and study spaces, and refurbished facilities for other departments right across the school.

Specialist areas will be created for new courses in construction, catering, child care and music technology.

The headteacher of the school, Glyn Whiteford, said: “I'm delighted that the construction schedule is progressing so well. Improvements we have carried out to the existing buildings are already contributing to raising standards even higher.

“Importantly, the new buildings will also provide an additional resource to be used by the whole community, especially our partner primary schools, as well as allowing us to expand our sixth form provision.“