Reaching new heights with the SG Arts Centre

Construction of Sherborne Girls’ new £10m Arts Centre has been gathering pace over the summer term and has now reached the stage when the ‘highest point’ of the building has been completed.

To mark this significant milestone, invited guests attended a ‘topping out’ ceremony on site. Jon Daines, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructuer Ltd who are the main contractors for the project explained:

“Topping out is an ancient medieval tradition which sees a yew tree branch placed on the topmost beam and is deemed to bring good luck to the building. It is fantastic to be celebrating this major milestone for the new Arts Centre, which will be a stunning addition to Sherborne Girls’ campus when it is completed in Spring 2019.”

The Arts Centre, located at the heart of the campus, will comprise a new recital hall with 350 fixed seats and space for a full symphony orchestra (or capacity for 560 as a lecture theatre), music practice rooms as well as providing a multifunctional social space for a range of events from guest speakers and exhibitions to match teas and social events.

Jenny Dwyer, Headmistress at Sherborne Girls, commented:

“As well as giving creative arts the facilities they deserve, this new centre will also create a welcoming hub at the heart of the school, adding to the sense of community and benefiting the daily lives of the girls, staff and the wider Sherborne community for generations to come.

“This is the largest and most exciting development Sherborne Girls has ever undertaken. It is much more than a new building; we are bringing key areas of school life together within a venue which has been designed to offer the space our growing school requires.”

The total cost of the £10m project is being supported by a £2.5m fundraising appeal. The school has already raised just over £2m thanks to the generosity of parents, past parents, old girls, honorary old girls and friends of the school. Its fundraising efforts will continue whilst the construction work progresses. To find out more about how you can support the school and this project, please visit www.sherborne.com/the-arts-centre

To view the photos from the topping out ceremony click through to the gallery pages.