Is the Belt Tightening ?

[Richard Ruck]

Off to a Christmas Fair at C.H. this morning.....

What will happen to this sort of thing, and the wedding fairs / antiques fairs / dolls house thingies?

How was the Christmas Fair if I may ask? Could you describe it please?

As all the students go home well before Christmas, does the school bother to decorate?

Don't get excited, Shoz! It wasn't a 'school' event (the pupils are on their leave weekend at the moment).

This was a commercial event organised by Quadrant Events. Various small traders set up stalls in the Dining Hall to show / sell their wares - Christmas decorations, jewellery, chocolates, that sort of thing.

[darthmaul]

To all and sundry...

You may well be interested to know the public version of CH's finances at the moment...

£270m in assets.....

half that in commercial property apparently. this includes a theme park in scotland, and a bingo hall in the midlands.

Our portfolio has apparently increased by £70m in the last three years!!

The current school spending stands at £14m, and will increase to £23m in the forthcoming year (s) due to upgrades due to ooccur in;

New Science
Art Quad
DT School

After this, the spending will decrease to a mere £18m annually.

Food spending apparently (very dubious on this one) is £2.50 a person a day. Gas and elec stand at £1m a year.

The school Intranet is being upgraded in terms of hardware - the cables in the Tube are being replaced with fibre-optics. Thats their next big thing.

Anyway, I think that's all I learnt. No doubt there are those who are much more informed out there.

[Richard Ruck]

The current school spending stands at £14m, and will increase to £23m in the forthcoming year (s) due to upgrades due to ooccur in;

New Science
Art Quad
DT School

After this, the spending will decrease to a mere £18m annually.

Weren't these developments put on hold? I thought everyone was trying to figure out how to finish refurbishing the boarding houses first?

[darthmaul]

Weren't these developments put on hold? I thought everyone was trying to figure out how to finish refurbishing the boarding houses first?

Well, I believe that most have been postponed, but I have it on good authority that the New Science school is being done in the very near future.

The boarding house refurbs are modified as follows;

Spending on individual blocks is down to approx £2m, rather than the £4m which was spent on Peele, Lamb, Hunt and Maine. The structural layout will not change at all. Extra staff accomadation will not be built - there are three flats on each side in each refurb - the number and qaulity of the staff accomodation will remain the same as in the old houses.

Lav ends will also remain! However, the very definite upside of the new plan is that the day room will be kept - something that the new refurbs lack.

I forgot as well.....they are also currently re-roofing the East Cloisters - they are falling to pieces.

[shoz]

Spending on individual blocks is down to approx £2m, rather than the £4m which was spent on Peele, Lamb, Hunt and Maine.

Are the blocks you refer to accommodation or classroom blocks? If they are accommodation will this not lead to resentment from students being put in the less well refurbished blocks?

[Richard Ruck]

Shoz, you need to read the 'Masterplan' threads - everything's explained there.

The buildings mentioned are boarding house blocks and yes, I imagine that some resentment might well ensue.

[englishangel]

We recieve EMA on this basis:

We attend every lesson and active
We are not late for a lesson more than twice a week in any one subject.
We are doing AS-A2 levels.

per week if your parents earn:
£19k or below - £30
£25k or below - £20
£32k or below - £10

hehe

big bribe

As my elder daughter quite rightly points out - it`s unfair on those who DON`T receive the allowance - after all, they`re doing EXACTLY the same but receive no "incentive" . If the money went to the parents that would possibly be a different matter.........

Exactly.

Mine get £20 allowance a month as their Dad earns too much for EMA. Never mind that we are paying off enormouse debts after four years unemployment.

[Great Plum]

Weren't these developments put on hold? I thought everyone was trying to figure out how to finish refurbishing the boarding houses first?

Well, I believe that most have been postponed, but I have it on good authority that the New Science school is being done in the very near future.

The boarding house refurbs are modified as follows;

Spending on individual blocks is down to approx £2m, rather than the £4m which was spent on Peele, Lamb, Hunt and Maine. The structural layout will not change at all. Extra staff accomadation will not be built - there are three flats on each side in each refurb - the number and qaulity of the staff accomodation will remain the same as in the old houses.

Lav ends will also remain! However, the very definite upside of the new plan is that the day room will be kept - something that the new refurbs lack.

I forgot as well.....they are also currently re-roofing the East Cloisters - they are falling to pieces.

Glad the Lav Ends will remain - surely what you have described there is what should have been done in the first place?

And the keeping of the Back Avs is also very important...

[Richard Ruck]

Perhaps they need a PROPER Security force at Housey, then.

Does that answer your question Debs, or is THAT too cryptic for you ?

They could always use Securitarse, or whatever they call themselves....

[darthmaul]

Glad the Lav Ends will remain - surely what you have described there is what should have been done in the first place?

And the keeping of the Back Avs is also very important...

Well said. I have never personally experienced the lav ends on a regular basis, but I do believe that there is a measure of socialising and house bonding that can occur in such environments. It has been said that the refurbs, although well fitted in the bathroom dept. are lacking in character, whcih may adversely affect the residents.

[Deb GP]

Don't recognise the ropey reference, I'm afraid JR. Either the passage of time has dulled my memory or I didn't know them.

[J.R.]

Don't recognise the ropey reference, I'm afraid JR. Either the passage of time has dulled my memory or I didn't know them.

Don't fret over it, Debs !

I get the impression 'Secret Squirrel' is alive and well and living near Horsham !

We may know more at the end of this week !

[Moulam]

talking of a proper security there are a few changes happening in that area.

the first of which (FROM THE GRAPEVINE) is that the current head of security is leaving before the end of the year!!

the second of which is that we are no longer allowed to order any food on to the site during the week, this is due to the catering department trying to monopolise their little pizza business.

the third is that in the refurbished houses there are cameras watching all of the ground floor exits and stairs which are triggered by any movement in the house.

the final thing is not a bad thing as it is the fact that there are now going to be two security guards on during the night shifts so that the majority of problems can be dealt with with much more ease.





as of the new houses, i lived in one for a year, having lived cramped in prep block for a year before that and then before that i was in old maine. the old hoses have character and personality, prep block (with at least 6 in a room whilst doing GCSEs) had plenty of atmosphere but the new houses ave no warmth or feeling. they are so white and bland, they try to be clinical but fail and it is almost depressing. some of the work in maine was also sub-standard, such as the paintwork which was peeling, in certain areas, after only a month. the lack of a fromal day-room is also a complete disaster.

the grecians houses on the other hand should be so much better but they are not. the buildings are subsiding causing growing cracks in the walls and the kitchens no longer have any applances other than a poor microwave, ultra slow hobs and the slowest kettle and toater i ever have seen. they used to contain dish washers. they never had ovens as this was supposed to stop us going to meals as we would cook, but instead we do not go to meals and eat unhealthy micro meals and constant pasta.

anyway i have done enough ranting. hope to hear from you all soon

[Mrs C.]

the second of which is that we are no longer allowed to order any food on to the site during the week, this is due to the catering department trying to monopolise their little pizza business.

But you`ve got to admit, Edd, the school pizzas are much better than the things Telephone Pizza Company try to pass off as pizzas to you all!

Actually it`s not so that you buy school pizzas, if I`m correct, it`s because any visitor to the school is supposed to be escorted by security or someone in school and as none of these delivery people will have been CRB checked, it is, in fact for the safety of the pupils. At one point last year one of these drivers just walked into GRW (the door had propped open by someone) - he could have been anyone and, knowing how doors are frequently wedged open, he probably could have got into the pods - then ..who knows...?

Wouldn`t you rather be safe than sorry? As a parent I think that security measures still have a long way to go . It`s not a question of keeping you in , it`s keeping the "general public" out. More cameras needed, I say!

[englishangel]

I agree with Mrs C.

My teens certainly feel invincible and don't realise stuff like this is for their own protection.