Claydon primary school celebrates topping out ceremony

Former pupils of a Suffolk primary school are delighted after they got to build a £2.2m classroom facility for it. A topping out ceremony was held to mark the completion of its roof – one of six primary school expansions Suffolk County Council is currently working on. Ipswich based building firm SEH French began construction back in November. The annexe building, designed by Concertus Design & Property Consultants, will create an additional 105 places at the school.

“We’re delighted to be working on this project, which will help to create extra school places in Suffolk,” said Mr Girling. “We also have a bit of personal pride about this project, because both myself, the contracts manager for the project, Simon Hubert, and our project manager Steve Sharpe are all former pupils of the school, so we feel honoured to be able to give something back all these years on.”

Councillor Chris Studd, chairman of Claydon & Whitton Parish Council and Cllr John Whitehead, Mid Suffolk District Councillor for the Claydon and Barham Ward, hold strong links to the school and were therefore also in attendance at the ceremony. Cllr Studd said: “Five generations of my family have been pupils at Claydon Primary, and John is the chair of the school’s governing body, so it’s fantastic to be able to mark this occasion.”

Cllr Whitehead said it was “a pleasure” to be involved in the topping out ceremony. “I know the whole school community is looking forward to enjoying this beautiful new facility from September.”

Andrew Outram, Senior Quantity Surveyor at Concertus said: “Acting in a multi-disciplinary capacity, we wanted to create an extension that provides an exceptional learning environment, whilst also providing a building that architecturally sets itself apart from other buildings. At Concertus, we take pride in the projects we deliver and cannot wait to introduce the pupils to their new learning environment for the new school year.”