Almost 30 years after its initial construction, Cambridge High School’s newly refurbished Marshall Block is getting ready to reopen featuring new technology and teaching spaces.
The building has been closed for refurbishments all year and Acting Principal Paul McAvoy expects it to reopen in the first half of Term 3.
Marshall (M) Block first opened in August 1998, replacing C Block which had been destroyed in a fire on August 31, 1996.
The fire, caused by a heater left running overnight, destroyed thousands of dollars of valuable teaching resources and student work as well as four social sciences and arts classrooms, a toilet block, two resource rooms and a photography darkroom.
A new replacement block was planned, and in March 1995, concept drawings were revealed in the Cambridge High School Newspaper published at the time.
The new building opened in August 1998 and was described in the school newspaper as “setting the standard” with its “spacious, attractive classrooms and the comfort of the new furniture”.
Its name pays tribute to Dr George Marshall, Principal from 1964 to 1972.
“All of his attributes of leadership, high standards of behaviour, and love of learning are evoked in the name,” then principal Alison Annan wrote at the time.
The new block marked an important milestone in the school’s history as it was the first permanent classroom block to be built since the school was originally established on its current site in 1961.
In the school newspaper, then Board of Trustees chair Peter O’Brien said feedback from students and teachers had been positive.
“Some students have said they may be expected to produce neater work, and some have said the teachers are less grumpy.”
Images of the C block fire and new M Block.
Now, 30 years after the fire, M Block has had a makeover.
The months-long work has included recladding for weather tightness as well as changes to the internal layout resulting in more classrooms.
“It's kept the tradition around M block which has been there for close to 30 years but at the same time it’s a cutting-edge learning environment able to help students make the best of their time here at CHS,” Mr McAvoy says.
“M block has been a project that we tried really hard to get going. It follows on from the opening of the brand-new S block a couple of years ago and the recladding of the R+D block which opened around about 18 months ago now.
“M block is next in line, so the weather tightness has been done there are additional teaching spaces that have been added to the top floor to just recreate and reimagine the learning environment for everybody.”
Funding to address weather tightness came from the Ministry of Education while the internal fit out was funded using the school’s 5 Year Agreement funding – allocated by the School Board for capital upgrades and to modernise existing buildings.
“That has allowed us to make it better than it was before,” Mr McAvoy says. “Not just repair it but reimagine it, make it even better and create additional teaching spaces in those areas.”
M Block over the months
