Science labs get $500k upgrade

Chanel College's science labs are undergoing a more than $500,000 facelift, ahead of a renewed fundraising drive to build a $1.8 million gymnasium at the school.

College principal Grant Miles said builders had demolished the interior of three labs ready for a complete refurbishment from scratch that would include a reconfiguration of the spaces and the building of a new resource room.

The upgrading of the labs had been put on hold in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 and adjoining corridors also will undergo quake strengthening.

The work is expected to be completed in September.

Other changes on the school wishlist include an all-weather outdoor sports surface and a revamp of the administration block, although the construction of the gymnasium will precede the smaller projects.

The multi-purpose gymnasium will border the school hall and the No1 soccer ground, and will house a basketball court, a tennis court, four volleyball courts, a netball court, five badminton courts, an indoor hockey court, and static weights and fitness training areas.

There also will be a mezzanine floor that incorporates a classroom, kitchen and a viewing gallery, and the gym will be available for community use.

The Wellington-based Catholic Schools Board, which owns Chanel College - formerly St Joseph's College for Boys - had earlier earmarked $400,000 for the project and the school also won a grant of $60,000 from the Masterton Licensing Trust and a $30,000 grant from Lands Trust Masterton.

Mr Miles said Archbishop John Dew last year announced a $1 million increase in the board investment and the school and its community had only about $120,000 left to raise before building could begin.

Design elements have been expanded and costs consequently increased from just over $1 million to $1.8 million for the gymnasium, for which plans will be finalised today.

Mr Miles said close to $300,000 had already been raised through the Chanel College Education Funds, the Chanel College Parents, Teachers and Friends Association, and the Gymnasium Building Committee.

He said upcoming fundraising drives included a school gala day and a giant book sale, and the Gymnasium Pledge Funding Committee was to raise funds from former pupils of Chanel College and of St Joseph's College for Boys and St Bride's.