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EDUCATION 067 REPORT School Benenden
School’s £19m redevelopment underway, the importance of
reading, why we love dinosaurs, putting STEM skills to the test & news
Caroline Knight B
enenden School is well on the way to constructing a new school hall and
music school, with the £19 million scheme the most ambitious construction project in the school’s 96- year history. The project has been designed by the multi award-winning Guy Hollaway Architects and the main building contractor is Buxton
Building Contractors Ltd, while seven other companies have responsibility for elements of the project, which has been funded through sensible borrowing, school reserves and fundraising revenue. The innovative new school hall and state-of-the-art music school should be completed in late 2020 and is the fl agship investment of the school’s Centenary Vision, a programme of enhancements to Benenden’s curriculum and facilities ahead of its centenary in 2023. The original hall was built in 1938 when there were just 200 pupils – today Benenden numbers 550 girls, with 300 staff. Headmistress Samantha Price said: “The hall and music school are at the very heart of school life and
this redevelopment will dramatically enhance the experience of each and every Benenden girl for generations to come. We are equally pleased that, through our multi-purpose new hall, we will be establishing one of the foremost concert halls in the South East which will be available for use by the community.” Features of the new
development include: a new school hall with a capacity of 750 people; state-of-the-art acoustics; retractable seating so that the hall can be used for a variety of events; bar area and catering facilities; a recital music hall; more than 20 music practice rooms and classrooms and a smaller performance room, IT suite and recording and performance booths. • Visit
benenden.school
DINOSAUR DEVOTEES All kids love dinosaurs, especially boys, right? Well, maybe. But some small children seem to be particularly partial to the big beasts to the point of obsession. And whilst around three quarters of children lose interest in dinosaurs by the time they reach Year 1 of primary school, the remaining 25% are still infatuated. This could be good news for parents, as various studies point to the fact that dinosaur addicts, along with children who develop obsessive interests in other creatures or topics, are often very bright individuals. It seems that learning and retaining information in particular areas of interest trains young minds to develop excellent skills including complex thinking, the processing of information and a good attention span. These are apparently the children who will find it relatively easy to develop problem-solving strategies.
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