Member Article

Unused Dinnington building transformed into learning centre

Dinnington-based wall, floor and tiling experts, A Cumberlidge, have helped to turn a building taken over by Dinnington High School from Rotherham Borough Council into a learning centre for pupils.

The building, which is also used by the local Slimming World Group, located on Doe Quarry Lane was in a state of disrepair when the School took over as it hadn’t been occupied for several years.

However, it had great potential as primarily an educational facility and secondly as a unit that could be let out to local groups. Premises officer, Alison Clarke, approached Tim Vaughan, financial director at A Cumberlidge, to help with its transformation.

Explains Alison: “The roof had been leaking for a few years so the beautiful herringbone wood floor was really damp and unfortunately beyond repair.

“A number of our pupils have taken apprenticeships at A Cumberlidge so we thought it would be a great idea if they could work on the project and put the skills they’re learning into practice.

“We had a lot of other work to do in the building so Jack Walker and Adam Curtis, two of Tim’s current apprentices and former Dinnington High School pupils, stripped out the old floor, prepared the area and screeded it so it was safe for people to work on - that was a huge help in getting the six month project off the ground.”

Adds Tim Vaughan: “Once the building’s structure was repaired, Jack and Adam assisted in laying a new covering of Polyflor Acoustix Gallery FX PUR sheet vinyl. The building now has a serviceable, hard-wearing and easy to maintain floor.”

Concludes Alison: “Both Jack and Adam did a superb job and we were delighted to have them back on site for a few days. It’s great to see how much they’ve learnt so far from the team at A Cumberlidge – they’re a credit to the school and themselves. They helped us to transform the premises into a place that can be used by a wide variety people including our own pupils and the local group. The School hopes that other local groups will also see the facility’s potential.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kirsten Howells .