Ceremony marks ‘topping out’ at Claydon Primary

A ‘topping out’ ceremony has been held to mark the completion of the roof on Claydon Primary School’s new classroom facility. The primary school is one of six Suffolk primaries to be expanded over the next ten years.

The £2.2m annexe building designed by architects Concertus will create an additional 105 places at the school.

Ipswich based building firm SEH French began construction back in November. Manging Director Simon Girling said: “We’re delighted to be working on this project, which will help to create extra school places in Suffolk. 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.”

Cllr Chris Studd, Chairman of Claydon & Whitton Parish Council and Cllr John Whitehead, Mid Suffolk District Councillor for the Claydon and Barham Ward were also in attendance at the ceremony, and they too have strong links to the school. 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 and 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: “We are pleased to be working on this project to provide a much needed extension, to Claydon Primary School. 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.”

Image: From L-R: Steve Sharpe, David Garrard, Simon Hubert, Cllr Chris Studd, Andrew Outram, Neil Eaton, Cllr John Whitehead, Adam Hudson, pupils of Claydon Primary School and Mary Ashcroft, Head Teacher.