Ra shares this latest news from Ryde School. Ed
Ryde School is planning to build a new boarding house and sports pitch in the grounds of the School in Queens Road within the next 18 months.
An exciting development that will significantly enhance the School’s facilities whilst creating opportunities for community use in the Ryde area and bring wider economic benefits for the Island, the proposal is for a boarding house to accommodate up to 68 pupils alongside a new Astro turf pitch with the potential for inter-school and local sports club benefit. The proposed placement of the building is near the existing tennis courts in the School grounds.
Contribute to the local economy
The project will ensure Ryde School can continue to expand its boarding provision, ensuring its facilities are comparable to other British schools in this highly competitive market and so allowing pupils from across the UK and internationally to benefit from attending Ryde School.
These extra boarding pupils will contribute to the local economy in terms of weekend spend and transportation, will ensure new employment opportunities at the School and will bring parents and friends from the UK and around the globe to the Island.
Revised plans
The School has responded to feedback from local residents and after an initial consultation and subsequent correspondence has amended the concept drawings to answer some concerns:
- The height of the building was a concern and the plans that have been submitted reflect a lowering of the height of the building to bring it into line with the equivalent of a pitched roof two storey building.
- Drainage was a concern and the new plans ensure improved drainage.
- A large picture window has been removed from a common room and one wing of the building reduced by two metres to answer concerns over potential privacy issues of being overlooked. The building footprint has been moved farther away from two boundaries and the proposed fencing should significantly reduce any threat of overlooking. Plans for green walls have been added at various points with planting at full building height to soften the overall appearance.
- The number of bedrooms in the boarding house has also been reduced.
The amended plans are now with the planning office and will be published on their portal, and therefore available to view from Friday 24th March. With regard to the proposed sports pitch, the School is still finalising the design and position and a revised plan will be submitted in the near future.
Mark Waldron, Headmaster, said,
“We are very excited about this proposed development of our boarding provision. Boarding is an important part of what Ryde School offers.
“The Isle of Wight is a perfect setting for pupils looking for a healthy, positive environment in which to grow up and be educated and offers an enriching experience for pupils who come to the Island from the rest of the UK and abroad.
“At the same time our boarders enrich our School and the Island community with their diverse backgrounds and experiences and are a timely and daily reminder of the exciting but competitive world our pupils need to be ready to embrace.”
Only Island independent day and boarding school
Founded in 1921 and the only independent day and boarding school on the Island, the School educates pupils from the Island, Portsmouth, the UK and overseas.
A great deal of re-investment has recently gone into the existing fabric of the School with re-designed science labs, a newly appointed Sixth Form centre and the relatively recent building of new art and design studios.
The proposed boarding house will ensure the boarding provision at the School continues to offer a comfortable home-from-home environment for mainland and overseas pupils who want to enjoy an education on the Island and for Island pupils whose parents work away from home.
