WELLINGTON SCHOOL NEW NURSEY IN FORMER SALVATION ARMY HALL
05 Mar 2016
Wellington School is delighted to have taken ownership of the former Salvation Army Hall in the town. The lovely building, which sits on the edge of the School’s campus, will be re-developed to create a superb nursery unit for two year olds, which is scheduled to open in September 2016.
The old chapel was the headquarters of the Salvation Army in Wellington for many years. When the Salvation Army stopped using the building and it came on to the market, the School was very keen to acquire it and keep the building in community use. “Its location is ideal for us.” said Mr Adam Gibson, Headmaster of Wellington Prep School. “The building has an important history and with our nursery plans, the building has an exciting future for the School and the town.” The new nursery unit will extend the School’s age range to two year olds and the facility will be open for 50 weeks a year, enabling all pre-school children at the School to have access to year round care and education.
The space inside the beautiful stone building presents a blank canvas and designs are already in place to create state of the art learning spaces, indoors and outdoors, for the children. “We are in touch with local suppliers and manufacturers who will be working with us to develop this wonderful building. The space inside and out will be developed to be among the best of its kind.” stated Mr Jim Pendleton, Estates Manager at the School.
The old chapel’s location at the edge of the School’s campus means that access to the new nursery will be re-configured. “Changing the access point for parents will mean that the nursery doesn’t cause any additional traffic on Scott’s Lane.” explained Mr Pendleton, who went on to say, “It also means that we can use some of the School’s existing land to create additional outside play space for the nursery.”
The new nursery will be relatively small with capacity for just over twenty children. “We made a determined choice to keep the numbers low in order to maintain the outstanding quality of Early Years care for which we are known.” said Mr Adam Gibson. “From our parents’ point of view being able to offer year round care is a great option, especially as the number of families in the town is continuing to grow. The number of registrations that we have already received suggests that there will be a great deal of demand for places.”
The months ahead will see the re-design of the old chapel into the town’s newest nursery.
Photo: New nursery unit taking 2 year olds