Those of you who have been at the School for a long while will know that this is a project we were poised to begin in 2020 but which had to be put on hold during the pandemic. The delay meant that our planning permission expired, we were then forced to re-apply for it, and permission took considerable time to come through after new conditions were imposed. Fortunately, the delays are now at an end and over the next couple of months, the Pavilion will rise before our eyes, on Merton Field.

The Pavilion was designed by Robert Montgomery, the leading Oxford Architect, and is intended to provide a large space for teaching, entertaining and hosting sports and other events, a kitchen facility, changing rooms, proper lavatories, and storage space. It will allow us to do so much more on the Games field than we are presently able to. We will be able to hold tournaments and charity events, entertain in a decent space, and host visiting groups, most especially visiting teams; the Pavilion will allow us to have a classroom near the Woodland School and it will provide modern facilities.

The building is to be built by a company called Qube, a construction business which specialises in modular buildings. The sections of the building will be constructed in Qube’s factory, then brought to Oxford and assembled very quickly. This will mean that the project should be completed rapidly. We have been advised by our chartered surveyors that the building should be ready during the course of the summer holidays and so it should be in use by next academic year.

In order to build the Pavilion we will use the proceeds from our 2019-2020 fundraising exercise to cover a portion of the build costs, but we have had to take out a loan from Christ Church to finance most of the construction phase. Clearly, the more quickly we can pay off this loan the better for us, the less interest we will have to pay and the more we will be able to spend on other things.

We are very keen, therefore, to raise as much money as we can in the form of donations, especially from families whose children have come to the School in the period since Covid. Please be in no doubt that this building will transform the way in which we use Merton Field – a change which will make a huge difference to the School.

We would be very grateful if you would consider making a donation towards the cost of the building. The Friends of the Cathedral have promised Christ Church Cathedral School £50,000 of matched funding so any money which is given, up to this level, will immediately be doubled. As a charity, we are also able to claim gift aid so your donations will be worth a great deal more than their face value if you make a contribution by way of the gift aid scheme. To make a donation, please contact us. 

We would also be grateful if you might consider helping to kit out the entertainment and teaching space. We will shortly send a list of the items for which we are looking for a sponsor – if you might consider sponsoring an item we would acknowledge the gift publicly.

We are so pleased that the Pavilion will be a reality in the very near future and look forward to sharing the opportunities which it will bring to us with all those connected to the School. To find out more or make a donation, please contact us.