The Marshall Centre for Learning Interview with Mr Townsend

At last the fenced-off pile of rubble outside the Lord Riche Hall is being transformed! Work is well underway on the new building at the Senior School and within just a few months the Marshall Centre will be one of the most exciting, innovative learning spaces in the school. As part of the BBC Young Reporters Team, Felsted Prep pupils had the opportunity to find out more about this exciting development from Mr Townsend. 
 

How long will it take?
When asked how long the building will take to be built, Mr Townsend explained that the original plan was for it to be built at the end of 2021, but because of the global pandemic, it will now be finished ready for September 2022.

What will it look like?
What the building will look like is certainly important to us. So we asked what the interior will be like and how it will be unique to other buildings. He answered that “This will be unique because the inside will be modern and will be able to hold more students than most other buildings. It has been carefully designed to fit in with the buildings and houses around it but will also be a striking and noticeable building, with many windows for natural lighting’’.

Importantly, the building takes into consideration natural resources including solar panels, natural light, natural ventilation and an excellent insulation system. During the summer it is going to be cool in the new building and in the winter it will be warm. The best part is that it is going to be built with local, sustainable resources.

The most exciting thing is there will be breakout rooms where you can think of ideas. There will be an elevator that maybe everyone can use. It will be very big. It will be unique in its design, with walls that can open to create wide open spaces with many windows. This will certainly make a difference to learning because this building has 10 large classrooms and individual learning pods which will really help us focus on our work.
 

 
Why it will be comfortable for students
Ideally, in our minds, the building has been specifically placed near the Felsted Safi Coffee shop, so that students on their way to the building can grab a warm hot chocolate in the winter and a cool cup of water in the summer to refresh themselves while they work to the best of their ability.  Between lessons at the Marshall Centre, the students can grab a delicious muffin or a chocolate cupcake to enjoy while they refresh themselves for their next lesson. 

The Felsted Future 
We are very fortunate to be in Year 7 and as such, we will be one of the first groups of pupils to benefit from this wonderful building in the Senior School. We are sure that this will make a big difference to our learning. It will certainly be a statement building, putting learning at the heart of the school. Lots of the Victorian classrooms are quite small and we think the 21st century classrooms need to have big, modern spaces to enable pupils to work in groups. This building will provide large teaching spaces in each of the 10 classrooms. The building will also reflect a modern workplace environment which will be a great experience for us. 

It was exciting to interview Mr Townsend and to hear how this vision is becoming a reality. We are delighted that the school is looking to the future and all its possibilities.
 

Felsted Future - Find out More