The Southwell community welcomed the addition of a new junior school and library extension at a recent opening ceremony.
Over 20 years in the making, the project has been much-discussed throughout this time.
While the former junior school and library were great people spaces, the two new spaces are world class spaces created for students to thrive in for many years to come.
Opened by old boy Glenn Holmes, who attended Southwell from 1964 to 1967. Holmes was head boy in his final year and has served Southwell as a trust board member, foundation chair, is an Associate of Honour and is the current Warden of the Fellows, and a proud former parent and now grandfather of a Year 3 student.
Southwell couldn’t have achieved these stunning new spaces without the help and generosity of the many supporters of the school.
The trust board provided unwavering leadership and much-needed foresight. Matt Stark and the team from Stark Property, whose expertise, guidance and generous giving nature proved invaluable. Edwards White Architects’ design expertise provided the vision behind these spaces. Steve Ross, SJR Builders and his team of builders and contractors delivered outstanding work and relationships on a daily basis. The Year 1 teaching team’s specific student and staffing input helped create the internal and external features. David Wharton from Active Vision, whose generosity and tech excellence was vital to the project.
Playground Solutions’ Maree Clark was the visionary who oversaw the moving, development and creation of the playground and turf space. The Southwell workshop team, whose work ethic, collaboration with tradies and for getting stuff done, enabled the project’s smooth-running from the start to finish. Haydn Stoevelaar’s expertise in IT, enabled the development of high-tech systems both below ground and above.
Southwell’s New Alumni Sports Pavilion
In June, the ribbon was cut to mark the opening of Southwell’s new Alumni Sports Pavilion.
Opened by Geoff and Linda Maber, together with Brett and Jo Maber and family, the pavilion will be a great place to gather people, build relationships and will be used for many occasions – from athletics day and sporting fixtures to team building moments.
The genesis of the building began a couple of years ago, when Old Boy and current parent/president of Southwell Alumni Group Brett Maber initiated a conversation about creating a new sports pavilion. From that conversation and with the support of the trust board and the generous act of philanthropy from the Maber family, the Southwell community have a stunning new pavilion. Designed in classic Southwell architectural style, the pavilion looks out onto the main fields with the 400-year-old kahikatea bush as its backdrop.
The expansive decking, much like the former sports shed, will be a great gathering space to instruct physical education classes and sport teams.
This world class space was created with the support and guidance of fellow, old boy and past parent Mark De Lisle and his team from Peddlethorpe Architects, who created the vision with their design work. Bringing the building to reality was Steve Ross from SJR Builders and his team of builders. Old boy, past parent Grant Clegg and the team from Colourform Joinery, with input from Jo Maber, designed a state-of-the-art kitchen space. John Heathcote, another old boy and past parent, generously donated the appliances. There are many more hands and minds involved in creating this exceptional pavilion. The Southwell community thanks everyone involved in creating a building that will be well-used and much-loved for years
to come.
