Students and staff were joined by members of their local community to a special ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction and hear more about plans for the new sports hall.
Once built, the sports hall building will include a fitness suite, two classrooms and a large new multi-use sports hall. The new sports facilities, which are being built on the Battersea Park Road site, will be open to the local community to hire outside of school hours and it is hoped that a range of sports and fitness clubs will be made available to local people of all ages.
Students and staff were joined by local community leaders, including Lisa Fenaroli, the Director of Education for Richmond and Wandsworth and local Metropolitan Police officer PC Darren Hawkett. During the event, Harris Academy Battersea’s Principal Charlie Comerford conducted the ceremonial groundbreaking after which attendees came together to discuss potential uses for the site beyond school activities.
Charlie Comerford, principal of Harris Academy Battersea, said: “It is fantastic to see construction begin on our new sports hall. Sport is an intrinsic part of Harris Academy Battersea and I am excited to see what new sporting opportunities the sports hall will open up for us. We have some excellent sports clubs and teams, and I can’t wait to see them take full advantage of the new facilities.
“Likewise, I look forward to sharing the facilities with our local residents and it has been wonderful to mark the start of construction with members of our local community. I very much hope that this will be a facility that local people will use and enjoy coming to. A local Cheerleading Group has already shown an interest in using the venue and I hope that we will see many more activities taking place here.
“Our students are keeping a close eye on the construction process and a group of Year 12 students will be updating us with regular updates as the building takes shape.
“Thank you to Assured CMS, Dean Street Developments and AF&F Construction for their support in helping us make our vision for a new sports hall into a reality.”
Saim, one of the Year 7 students who took part in the groundbreaking event, said: “I feel that the new gym is really an exciting opportunity for me because it helps me with my physical education and it will also help other people in the community, making sure that everyone gets a chance to be part of this”.