HOLYROOD Academy pupils have added their signatures to the new Holyrood Academy expansion project this week.

Students signed their names on the first steel frames put in place for the £5.6m project in Chard.

The Holyrood Academy expansion project is part of a school improvement plan worth £7.5m from Somerset County Council and Futures Somerset.

David MacCormick, Holyrood Academy headteacher said: “It’s wonderful our students get to contribute their messages and signatures to the history of the school through this new building.

"The new capacity will greatly benefit current and future cohorts in Chard with classroom space, dining area and new entrance.”

Aside from the expansion, further improvements to existing facilities are being carried out over 2 phases. The new build is set to be completed by April 2023.

Because the steel frames signed by pupils are set inside the building, the pupil signatures will be encased within the extension out of sight for now.

But at some point in the future when the site is redeveloped again, these signatures will be uncovered and be a fascinating glimpse into the past life of the school and the building, like a time capsule protected by the building itself.

The expansion is being built by Somerset County Council’s construction contractors BAM Ltd.

Councillor Tessa Munt, executive lead member for children’s services at Somerset County Council said: “This expansion will provide extra school places for Chard with a building that is energy efficient and hides a little bit of secret history.

"The pupils signing those hidden steel rods will know that in the future it might be their descendants discovering their messages from the past, and that everything they have put into Holyrood Academy during their time at the school will have helped shaped the opportunities of future generations to succeed.”

The building project has involved:

  • 60ft of steel beams and columns,
  • 365m3 of concrete poured,
  • 274 steel members,
  • 60,000 bricks, and
  • 288 tonnes of precast planks.

The build will provide an additional 1250m2 gross internal floor space and a purpose built kitchen and dining facility to provide meals to 270 pupils.

An additional six classrooms, new office spaces and meeting rooms, as well as a single point of entry into the school, means Holyrood’s capacity will benefit from an additional 225 places, helping meet school place demand from Chard’s growing population.