The Summer of Site Development
Published by Shiplake College on Wednesday 30th of September 2026
The summer break proved to be one of the busiest periods in recent years for Shiplake College's Estates and Grounds teams, with major investment in teaching spaces, student facilities, boarding accommodation and the wider campus environment.
Working through one of the hottest summers on record, with 13 days above 30°C and July recorded as Shiplake's hottest month in 120 years, teams delivered an extensive programme of improvements designed to enhance the day-to-day experience of pupils across the College.
Goodwin Transformation
One of the most significant projects of the summer was the transformation of the Goodwin Building. Former science laboratories have been converted into modern classrooms, increasing the total number of teaching spaces in the building to 17.
The project has created five additional classrooms, providing valuable extra capacity for Mathematics, Design & Technology and Psychology lessons. Alongside this expansion, a new Photography Room and dedicated office have been introduced, while Goodwin 13 has undergone a full IT classroom refresh, including the creation of a new storage area. A new Maths office has also been completed, and the Design & Technology department has benefited from an upgraded extraction system.
Expanded Sixth Form Facilities
In response to the continued growth of the Sixth Form, additional social and study space has been created through an expansion of the Sixth Form Centre.
The project included opening up the adjoining area within the Gilson Building to extend the existing space, improving locker provision and reconfiguring areas near the Pastoral Lead office. An additional girls' changing room has also been created on the top floor, helping to better support the needs of students.
Refreshed Learning Environments
Elsewhere on campus, Bevan 1 and 2 have undergone a significant refurbishment. Specialist contractors removed the existing asbestos ceilings before installing new suspended ceilings, modern LED lighting, improved extraction systems, new flooring and full redecoration throughout.
A new Mathematics classroom has also been completed in the Welsh Building, further enhancing the College's academic facilities.
Improvements to Boarding and Student Spaces
A number of projects focused on improving boarding accommodation and communal areas.
Within the Gilson Building, all boarding rooms on the first and second floors have been redecorated and fitted with new carpets, lighting and notice boards, while an additional bedroom has been created.
The Burr Building has been reconfigured as a co-educational boarding house, including refreshed accommodation, improved facilities, enhanced security measures and the creation of a new snug area. Meanwhile, Skipwith House has been adapted to better support its role as a co-educational day house and home to Year 9 pupils, with renovated common rooms, upgraded changing facilities and improvements to access and safeguarding arrangements.
Students have also benefited from new furniture in the College House common room, while existing furniture has been repurposed to enhance social spaces within Skipwith.
Enhancing the Wider Campus
Beyond buildings, several projects improved the wider College environment. Traffic-calming measures were installed along the main drive, while a new pedestrian pathway was created between the John Turner Building and Skipwith House to improve accessibility and safety for pupils moving around campus.
Grounds staff also undertook extensive sports pitch renovation works, relevelled and reseeded the Skipwith lawn, prepared facilities for the rugby season and maintained gardens across the estate despite prolonged dry conditions.
A Summer of Achievement
The scale of work completed by our amazing estates team was remarkable. During the summer, staff recorded 9.6 million steps, used more than 1,000 litres of paint, sowed 300kg of grass seed, completed 15 classroom and four office moves, and undertook the work while hosting a busy programme of summer camps, residential courses and lettings.
Together, these developments ensure that pupils and staff return to an enhanced learning environment, with improved facilities that will benefit the whole Shiplake community for years to come.
