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Lord Puttnam pictured, with Imogen Banks-Hudson and Grace Wyld |
From a graveyard to a playgroundSubterranean sports for a Marylebone school
MARYLEBONE Church of England School for Girls has unveiled its new underground gymnasium.
The facility – 30 feet beneath the playground – is built on the site of an ancient burial ground.
The Labour politician and film-maker Lord Puttnam, who produced the British movie Chariots of Fire, cut the ribbon at 4pm yesterday (Thursday).
The £5 million works began in October 2005 when an archaeological dig unearthed 3,000 skeletons under the school – including the bones of Methodist preacher Charles Wesley – which were later moved to a cemetery in east London.
Deputy head Jon Hunter said: “Wesley was one of the rare ones – he was in a coffin. He is now under a plaque – rather than our basketball court.”
“This project came out of much head-scratching over how to create more space and make the most of our only open space, the playground.
“It was a bold vision and took us a little by surprise, especially as it involved the demolition of the most recently built part of the school and had to be executed in such close proximity to the existing buildings.
“We also knew that PE and dance facilities in the school were under pressure when our only gym – a space dating back to the 19th century– became an exam hall for more than two months of each school year.”
Cutting the ribbon, former junior education minister and patron of the school, Lord Puttnam quipped that in the past he had been mistaken for BBC broadcaster David Attenborough.
“I have attended a number of events in which I have later discovered that David Attenborough also attended. I am pleased to be launching this event as myself this time.”
Marylebone School scored its best GCSE grades ever with 84 per cent of its pupils scoring five A*-C grades this summer.
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