A school dating back to the 17th century is future-proofing its facilities with the opening of a new 21st century teaching block.
Sandbach School, which dates back to 1677 and features some glorious mid-Victorian architecture, dedicated the new facility to one of its Old Boys, a well-known Sandbachian who died last year.
The new Dunning Arts Centre reflects the fact that the 11-18 comprehensive school is over-subscribed. Nominally a boys’ school, girls are now admitted to its sixth form, and the school said it had a “desperate need” to add more capacity to cater for the 1,400-plus students on roll.
A few years ago, a decision was taken to replace the existing single-storey technology block with a state-of-the-art two-storey teaching block that would house the core subjects of maths and English as well as art, languages and business studies departments. Work began in 2019.
The building has been named after Reg Dunning, who dedicated his life to Sandbach and in particular to Sandbach School. He was a founder member of the Old Sandbachians Rugby Club, now Sandbach RUFC, and served as a driving force and an officer of the Old Sandbachians for over 50 years.
He was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2019 and died in 2020.
A spokesman said: “It seemed only fitting that such a great servant of the school should have a permanent memorial at the school that supports the education of future Sandbachians.”
(Photos: Sandbach School).
