Wellsway School sports hall proposals to be unveiled

Wellsway School and Bath and North East Somerset Council are to unveil plans which show how the new sports hall at the school may look.

Having achieved specialist sports status two years ago, plans were put in place to increase the quality of sports facilities at Wellsway school.

The £2.7m sports hall will provide much needed facilities for pupils at the school and the community will be able to make use of the facilities out of school hours.

Councillor Chris Watt, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “Improving school buildings is one of Bath & North East Somerset Council's key priorities. These proposals are the first step in giving pupils at Wellsway and the wider community access to great facilities where they can get involved in a range of sports and activities.”

Headteacher, of Wellsway School, Andrea Arlidge, said: “The sports hall is a major part of our vision for the school and will provide the final part of our sporting provision along with the grass pitches and all weather pitch. The new facilities in the sports hall will allow our students to experience a wider range of sports as well as enabling us to offer a more complete curriculum.

“We are delighted that we can contribute in such a positive, significant and sustainable way to the development of Keynsham.   This expansion of our sporting provision is an important milestone on our journey towards being an outstanding school at the heart of the community”.

The proposal is to construct a new building on land to the east of the existing school, close to the all weather pitch, in order to provide a link between the school and the outdoor pitches. It will include a large sports hall for indoor activities such as badminton and five a side football, changing facilities, a dance studio suitable for aerobics or martial arts and a fitness suite with free weights and exercise machines. A new teaching space will be included so that the school can expand the existing curriculum to include sports science and biomechanics diplomas. The proposals also take into account ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the building as well as using low or zero carbon technologies.

The plans will be available on the school website www.wellsway.bathnes.sch.uk on Thursday this week as well as on presentation boards in the Mendip Building at the School. The public are invited to send any comments directly to the school via their website or in writing. 

It is hoped that a planning application will be submitted in spring of this year and a further opportunity for comments will be provided during the normal planning consultation procedures of the Council. If successful, works will commence as early as the end of 2010.