Comedian Tom Allen officially opens Tring School building after £30m project

Comedian Tom Allen officially opened Tring School’s newest building yesterday after more than two years of construction following a £30 million investment.

At the opening ceremony, the school’s students listened to Tom joke about his school days before cutting the ribbon of the Dobberson Building.

Sally Ambrose, Head of School, addressed the school, saying: “It is great to say that our new Dobberson Building is now complemented with a refurbished Desborough Building creating a school fit for the 21st century.”

CEO of Ridgeway Learning Partnership Sue Collings thanked the staff who had made the project possible, giving a special mention to Tring School’s business director Rod Gibberd.

Rod showed our reporter Olivia Preston around the school and explained what this multi-million-pound investment means to the students and staff.

The final touches to the new 140-space car park were being completed on what was the site of Tring School’s former main building.

Now metres away, stands a sustainable and modern school complete with views of the Chilterns and the Ashridge Estate from the second floor.

The Dobberson building, named after Andrew Dobberson who worked as a teacher at the school for 39 years, is equipped with the latest technology, including fingerprint scanning and climate control, and has a design which aims to bring the outside in.

Each of its approximately 1550 students has a locker in the large hallways, all painted in specific colours which allows the children to navigate their way around the large, new building.

In 2014, Rod was behind a bid to secure funding to demolish the outdated building and make way for state-of-the-art teaching facilities that benefited both the students and staff.

Rod said: “We wanted to take the school and its design from good to great and then from great to exceptional.”

In March 2020, as the UK went into its first coronavirus lockdown, builders were on site and began to take down Tring School. Now, two years later, Desborough Hall, a building which was not demolished, has been painted to look like the new part of the school and was refurbished to the same standard as Dobberson.

The school is centred around the dining hall, arguably the heart of the school, where all children can meet and eat.

Technology and innovation were at the centre of the project which saw £250,000 spent on interactive touchscreens and whiteboards to ensure seamless movement from one classroom to another.

A brand-new kiln and enlarged sports hall are some of the new facilities that Tring School pupils can make full use of.

Using the school’s own money, the new building also includes a space for dedicated pastoral care, with a full-time counsellor and chaplain to assist the children.

This was something that Tring School wanted to include to help to ensure that no child slipped under their radar.

Rod explained: “We want to educate the whole child, mentally, physically and emotionally.”

The student spaces, down to the toilets, have been reconfigured with the pupils in mind. The staff asked the students what they would like to see and now, with their input, have gender-neutral bathrooms.

Despite major setbacks with the pandemic, Brexit issues and the HGV driver strikes, the school is complete, with only a small section of the car park to be finished in the coming weeks.

Following the ceremony, which heard applause and a roar when Tom finally cut the maroon ribbon, Andrew Dobberson, the building’s namesake said: “It’s a beautiful building, it fits everything we’ve ever wanted.”

The retired teacher reflected on his time at the school and working on the eight-year project saying: “Will I miss it? Yes.”