Students, teachers and the local community gathered on Monday, 21st November for a traditional topping out ceremony at the brand new Mendip Studio School in Radstock.

The £4.3m school will provide specialised facilities for science, technology, engineering and mathematics and will be able to accommodate 300 students, offering a range of academic and vocational qualifications.

Two hundred students, currently attending Mendip, attended the ceremony and signed a board which is to be placed under a capping in the roof.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Head of Mendip Studio School, Bruce Hain, said: “We are really excited to be moving into our purpose built, beautiful school, with industry standard equipment and machinery for our bio science and engineering specialisms.

“A huge thank you to our students and to Kier for their enthusiasm and patience as we draw closer.

“We can’t wait until the building opens for us at the end of January. We have been really involved with the process, helping design the layout, taking tours of the foundations when they were first laid, and now we have left our mark on the building that generations to come will one day find our names – it’s pretty cool!”

The building allows for flexible work spaces that can blend into different uses,

including group break-out spaces, quiet independent working, University-style

lecture teaching rooms and practical study rooms.

The practice of ‘topping out’ is a tradition best known in the building trade and

celebrates a significant point in the construction phase, usually relating to the roof or the highest point of the building.

David Snell, Kier Construction’s Operations Director, Bristol, added: “Work is going really well, and it’s great to be able to celebrate the topping out with so many people. This scheme is particularly close to the hearts of our site team, as many of them are from the area, and working with local people and sub-contractors is something Kier always strive to achieve.

“We very much hope that the local community will enjoy the new facilities as much as the students and teachers, and look forward to seeing the doors open in late January.”