Construction of Isle of Ely Primary School is approaching completion – marked today with a topping out ceremony.
The school will house state-of-the-art facilities with capacity for 630 pupils, at its new Cam Drive site.
Isle of Ely Primary School is currently on a temporary site at Ely St Mary’s Junior School. The topping-out ceremony means that it will move into new premises in the New Year, when Key Stage 1 classrooms, administration, the main hall and library will be ready to use. Final completion will be in May 2016.
Bryony Surtees, executive head teacher of Isle of Ely and Chesterton Primary Schools, said: “The completion of the school building is very exciting, and I know that our staff and pupils are looking forward to moving into the premises in January.
“Our vision for Isle of Ely is to build upon the strong foundations we have established over the last few months, as well as ensuring that we continue to develop links with the community and beyond to support the local area.”
Academy sponsors The Active Learning Trust say they have worked with a variety of stakeholders to ensure the completion of this project, including Cambridgeshire County Council and Kier Group.
Gary Peile, the trust’s chief executive, said: “There has been a great effort from a lot of people to get this project off the ground and completed to schedule.
“We’re extremely grateful for everyone’s hard work and dedication, and the topping-out ceremony will allow us to celebrate the beginning of a new school serving the growing population of Ely.”
Isle of Ely Primary School has been built to meet the increasing demand for school places within the Ely area.
Its construction has been managed by Kier Group.
Kier Operations Director, Dennis Cotton, said: “Kier is very proud to be delivering the Isle of Ely Primary School, procured through the Cambridge County Council framework on a design and build basis.
“We look forward to celebrating an important milestone in the construction of the school with the topping-out ceremony, and then welcoming staff and pupils as they take phased occupation in the New Year.”
Councillor Sebastian Kindersley, chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council and representatives from the trust and Kier attended the ceremony.
A tree will then be planted to celebrate the new building’s construction.
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