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Letter to Parent /Students and Friends of St Bede’s College, 20 January 2012

It is timely that I update you on the latest developments following the major earthquakes of 23 December and the receipt of the results of the findings from Initial Engineering Assessments. These were completed on 22 December and communicated to myself and the Board of Trustees and Board of Proprietors of St Bede’s College the next day.

1. Clearance
Following inspections by our engineer and architect the College has been cleared to officially re-open as scheduled subject to some minor inspection and fencing works. However there are restrictions on the following buildings which will remain in place for the foreseeable future:

• Grimes Hall
• Chanel hall
• The Dining Room
• The upper floor of the science block including the ground floor changing rooms and ablution area.

In addition the Chapel will remain closed and sadly it will be very difficult for this building to be able to be repaired.

2. Safety Concerns
Understandably staff/students/family will have concerns over the safety of the College buildings and the grounds in general. To that end we have gone to some lengths to gain assurances from our engineer and architect and I am satisfied that we will have measures in place to ensure the safety of staff and students. These steps include:

• Full fencing around the Chapel until a decision is made on its future.
• Further inspections of the brickwork on Chanel Hall Joyce, Durham and Grimes and the removal of these bricks if required.
• Fencing of the area around the two-story section of the science block
• Installing a safe corridor between Brodie Hall and the Science block by using containers.
• Fencing around the dining room and Grimes
• Brace the south wall of Grimes Hall.
• Cordon off the western wall of the squash courts following the removal of the Fives Courts walls

Ash Wilson of Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers, the College engineer has said that apart from the Chapel, “The College buildings, including the cordoned off buildings, are not in imminent danger of collapse. However Initial Engineering Assessments have indicated that some buildings have a higher risk of suffering damage in a significant seismic event and as a precaution have been cordoned off.”

3. Boarding School
The loss of the Y9 and Y10 dormitories in Grimes and the loss of the dining room will impose constraints on the operations of the Boarding school. We are fortunate that we have Durham, the remnant wing of the old main building as accommodation for boarders. Last year the interior was repainted and over the next week more work will go into setting up common rooms and providing amenities for the boys.

I am pleased to report that based on specialist advice Durham is a very robust building. In his 22 December report Ash Wilson commented that, “due to the robust nature of the existing reinforced concrete elements around the entire perimeter of Durham it may achieve a higher rating if detailed engineering assessment is completed.”

In short Durham is a very strong building which has performed well in all major earthquakes to date.

With the dining room likely to be out of action for at least the first term we have organised a marquee as a temporary measure. This will be in place for the start of the school year.

4. Classrooms
The various closures have resulted in the loss of six classrooms. In order to ensure the College will open as scheduled we have reallocated four existing rooms and will erect two specialist marquees which will be used as classrooms. This solution was used by the University of Canterbury last year.

5. Relocatable rooms
The loss of six teaching rooms, including two labs is being addressed and a range of relocatable buildings have been inspected with a view to finding the best option for both our immediate needs and long term benefits are being appraised.

As many of you will be aware the availability of relocatable buildings in good condition is restricted. In addition to the problem of sourcing appropriate rooms the process of obtaining consents and then of getting the building on site and ready for use is time consuming, making what seems a simple solution a drawn out exercise.

Every effort will be made to have these replacement buildings in place by term two. There is some irony in the fact that these will be sited in the area previously occupied by Marian College last year.

6. Brodie Hall
Brodie Hall has performed well during the recent earthquakes and suffered very little if any damage. However due to the importance of the building to the school we are looking to upgrade this building to recommended levels in the immediate future, and our design team is currently working on the documentation. In the interim period before full upgrading works commence some temporary upgrading works are being installed to the stairwell areas before the term commences.

7. Amenities
Perhaps the biggest disruption for our boys will be in the loss of toilets, changing rooms and the tuckshop. The closure of Grimes Hall and the south end of the science block means that we will be very short of toilets and changing rooms.

A range of toileting options are under review and we will have sufficient toilets in place by 31 January. The longer term option of purpose built toilet blocks will not be in place until April.

The importance of the tuckshop has not been overlooked and a temporary facility will be available to cater for the inner man.

The loss of Chanel Hall means that the gym will need to become a multi-use facility. As one of our more modern buildings it has performed well in the earthquakes and will be essential as a venue for assemblies, masses and other whole-school occasions.

8. School opening
The College will reopen as scheduled (please see the school website). There is no change to the timing of any meeting or event at this stage.

9. Going Forward
Throughout this difficult period much thought has gone into the immediate tasks and invariably thoughts have moved to the future. Both the Board of Proprietors and the Board of Trustees have held emergency meetings and have assured themselves that the management team has put in place appropriate measures to deal with this situation we now find ourselves in.

A combined board committee has been established and this will meet weekly for the immediate future. It will act as the governance body for all matters relating to post EQ and property work and this will enable faster decision making and will also provide a forum for management to work through. The College property group has been augmented by the addition of Allan Turnbull and he is working closely with our insurers, our builders (Fletchers) our architect and engineer.

We are currently still working through the various stages of the insurance process with our insurers which is taking a considerable period of time. Although this has been a lengthy and frustrating process it hopefully offers an exciting opportunity for the college moving into the future.

In the aftermath of 23 December the property team set itself the task of “making sure everything that could be done – would be done for our boys and their education.”

10. Opportunity for Discussion
I understand that all the information above is a great deal to digest. Therefore we have arranged for a Question and Answer session for parents and community on Thursday 02 February 2012. Board members and senior staff will be available to answer any additional queries you may have. If you have a particular question prior to this please email rector@stbedes.school.nz. FAQs are also being posted on this website following this letter.

Reiterating the message of the property team “making sure everything that could be done – would be done for our boys and their education”, I think should be our collective vision for a year that we know will be difficult and will test our resources and our courage. Teaching and learning is at the forefront of the minds of both Boards; the students are paramount and everything will and is being done to ensure a safe, happy and successful year.

Justin Boyle
Rector

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you have a particular question prior to the Community meeting on the 2nd February please email rector@stbedes.school.nz.