Pictured at the demolition site (l-r) are Kevin Long of Watson & Cox, head teacher Tom Waterworth, Lodge Park business manager Anne Conway and GSS's Glenn Mathew.
	This computer illustration shows how the new vocational training centre will look.

Demolition of a former administration building has started at Lodge Park Technology College in Shetland Way, Corby, to make way for the construction of a dramatic brand new three storey front to the school. This will incorporate improved administrative facilities on the ground floor and a new 6th form centre on the two floors above. The new centre will include an IT suite and flexible teaching facilities.

A second phase to the £2.65 million project will see another new building being constructed on the site. This will be for vocational studies and flexible teaching, and will provide high quality training in retail business, customer services, administration and logistics. The new facilities will also be available to students attending other schools and colleges in the north of the county.

The overall scheme has been designed by GSS Architecture, while the main contractors are Wellingborough-based Watson & Cox.

GSS Associate Partner Glenn Mathew explained, "Following the demolition of the admin block construction will start on the new three-storey 6th form building. This is scheduled to be completed by mid-October. The second phase will see a two-storey building being constructed over and above an existing kitchen using a 'top hat' procedure," said Glenn. "This is a very cost-effective way of maximizing the use of space on a constricted site, and it is a technique that GSS has helped to pioneer. We'll also be adding a mezzanine floor to double the space available for the teachers' staff room."

This second phase is scheduled to start in the summer holidays and be completed by May 2008.

Tom Lyons, who is GSS's partner-in-charge, said, "This project is the latest in a series we have designed at Lodge Park in recent years. This new scheme will help to provide students with the best possible future prospects, and equip them with the skills that local employers need. It will provide yet another boost to the overall regeneration of Corby."