grow School Grounds’ Development 2024
New Court Floorplan Additional Benefits House Common Rooms Art School Fitness Suite 13 15 12 10 08 Enhanced Sixth Form Space Extended Junior Playground Year 6 Suite Nursery Expansion Introduction Music School 05 02 04 03 01 06 School Grounds’ Development TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION These successes have gone hand in hand with the improvement of facilities, including the building of the Sixth Form Centre, the Music School, the Paver Hockey Pitch, Blaxton Sports’ Grounds, the new Dining Hall, and the Blaxton Pavilion. This document now outlines a significant number of further areas which will be developed in the coming months, as we bring the building to the rear of the school into service. This then allows further development of the existing buildings. Originally known as Oxford House, the building will be given the working title of ‘New Court’. I am delighted to introduce to you the next, exciting steps on the Hill House journey, as we look to develop facilities and provision yet further, while, of course, maintaining the characteristics which make the school so special; knowledge of the individual pupils, ambition for success within a caring pastoral framework, and an ethos where pupils are encouraged to participate and to match resilience and perseverance with kindness and decency. I do hope you enjoy reading about these developments, and to seeing what is in store for the pupils over the coming years. Introduction | 01 School Grounds’ Development Since 2008, Hill House has seen very significant development as a school and as a site. The Governors’ commitment to investment in and development of facilities has gone hand in hand with the relentless improvement of the provision for our children, to the extent that Hill House has now become one of the leading schools in the North of England. In the previous 15 years, Hill House has relocated to Auckley, opened a Sixth Form, and the Headmaster has been elected a member of HMC, the organisation for the world’s top 300 independent schools. Academic results have soared as have triumphs on the sports field, in the arts and in extra-curricular activities. Such has been the achievements of the school that the demand for places has more than doubled in 15 years.
Nursery | 02 NURSERY EXPANSION Hill House Junior School is home to the area’s leading 3+ Nursery, preparing children superbly for their transition into formal education. Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate, it was described as ‘outstanding and highly successful in achieving its aim to provide high quality education in a congenial, family based community’. Our tailored programme of education for each child ensures that they can achieve their full potential, with a team of enthusiastic, qualified, dedicated experts, led by an experienced Nursery Teacher. Given the success of the Nursery, it is no surprise that its popularity has soared. School Grounds’ Development We are now able within this development to significantly enhance the accommodation, increasing the space available to the Nursery, which will mean we are able to fulfil most parental needs throughout the week, while also providing additional activity areas for the children.
Year 6 | 03 YEAR 6 SUITE As the oldest pupils in the Junior School, Year 6 is an exciting time when pupils search for more responsibility and benefit from opportunities to become more independent as they approach Senior School. To ease the pupils’ forthcoming transition into Senior School, this development now allows us to provide a tailor-made Year 6 Suite in one wing of New Court. Year 6 will have three adjoining classrooms and their own Library/Common Room and toilets. School Grounds’ Development The pupils will still have some lessons and break times in the Junior School, but we are sure they will very much relish the greater independence and more grown up ambience provided.
Junior School | 04 EXTENDED JUNIOR PLAYGROUND As Hill House has developed through the previous decade, we have ensured that the pupils have sufficient space to play outdoors at break and lunch. This development now allows us to relocate some sections of school parking, so that a portion of the rear Car Park will be able to be converted into an extension to the Junior Playground. This will give the pupils more space to play, whether it be ball games, with play equipment, or simply more room to walk and chat. School Grounds’ Development
Sixth Form | 05 ENHANCED SIXTH FORM SPACE We are delighted that we are now home to the highest achieving co-educational Sixth Form in the region. The academic success of the students, allied to the remarkable extra and super curricular opportunities and an outstanding university success rate, has meant a very pleasing growth in demand for places in recent years. This development means that we are now able to relocate Music from its portion of the Sixth Form Centre, which will allow Sixth Formers to have additional teaching space and a dedicated Careers’ Room. In a precursor to university provision, they will now also have a number of personal, bookable rooms for individual or shared study. School Grounds’ Development
Music School | 06 MUSIC SCHOOL Music is a great strength at Hill House; we are hugely proud of the pupils’ successes and progress in the many areas of the subject and are committed to the role of Music in a liberal education. Hundreds of pupils take weekly individual lessons, hundreds more enjoy participating in a great range of choirs, orchestras and ensembles, and all pupils have academic music lessons up to at least Year 8. This development now allows us to open a new Hill House Music School, in which all music from Year 3 and above will be brought together in one wing of New Court. Concerts will continue in the various performance spaces around the school, but we will now have one, fabulous home for this very important area of school life. School Grounds’ Development
Music School | 07 School Grounds’ Development Image for illustrative purposes only
Fitness Suite | 08 FITNESS SUITE Sport and exercise are a vital part of school life, and the burgeoning reputation of Hill House on the regional and national scene for many sports is a great credit to the pupils, parents and staff. This development now sees the school expand provision for fitness, strength and conditioning, by creating a large fitness suite in one wing of New Court. This suite will have changing rooms, a studio for dance and other activities, cardio-vascular rooms, and a gym for weight training. School Grounds’ Development
Fitness Suite | 9 School Grounds’ Development Image for illustrative purposes only
Art School | 10 ART SCHOOL Hill House has a national reputation for Art, with academic results being among the best in the United Kingdom. In recent years, we have developed a greater range of aesthetic variety in Art, including textiles and photography. The introduction of New Court now brings us a dedicated Senior Art School, with three linked classrooms and much improved storage, all of which will allow even further development and greater range of provision in the coming years. School Grounds’ Development
Art School | 11 School Grounds’ Development Image for illustrative purposes only
Senior School Houses | 12 SENIOR SCHOOL HOUSE COMMON ROOMS The Senior School pupils enjoy their learning and activities, and are busy people who occasionally need a little time to unwind and be with friends, pupils of different ages, and staff. I am delighted to say that, with the development of New Court, we will now have the space to introduce the concept of Senior School House Common Rooms. Each House will have its own, properly furnished Common Room, near to their House Office, which will now be a venue for recreation and House meetings. School Grounds’ Development
Senior School Houses | 12 School Grounds’ Development Image for illustrative purposes only
New Court | 13 NEW COURT GROUND FLOOR School Grounds’ Development
New Court | 14 NEW COURT 1ST FLOOR School Grounds’ Development
With Art, Mathematics and Business relocating to the other side of Sixth Avenue, several other departments will acquire additional classrooms in Senior School, which will mean less travelling time for teachers and pupils in those subjects. Additional classrooms in both buildings will bring a sense of space and increase the feeling of calm around the school. The new building will be home to a second Senior School Library; the New Court Library will be dedicated to fiction and borrowing, whereas the Cusworth Library will be more for silent study and reference. The relocation of some departments will release space in the main school building for additional meeting rooms, so that there should always be a congenial space for parents to meet staff. Additional Benefits | 15 School Grounds’ Development In addition to the developments already highlighted, the transformation of Oxford House into New Court allows for significant further improvement of the school site in general. For example: ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
Bringing the former Oxford House fully into the school will mean that the campus will now be a seamless whole. While the school already possesses abundant parking, these developments will bring the number of parking spaces available to over 300. With pupils crossing Sixth Avenue regularly between the main building and New Court, we will be ensuring their safety with the addition of further speed bumps and a second crossing. We will also be redesignating parking areas so that traffic on Sixth Avenue between the main school buildings and New Court is minimised, with all parental traffic now turning right into the parking areas between New Court and First Avenue. Additional Benefits | 16 School Grounds’ Development
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