Roundhouse makes outdoor learning easier for city students – News

A NEW wooden rotunda to support outdoor learning and mental health for pupils at a school in Barnard Castle has been endorsed by staff and children.
The building, adjacent to the Montalbo School’s recently created heritage garden, has a grass and sedum roof and four sliding doors, meaning the space can be used for outdoor classes in both summer and winter.
Until medieval times roundhouses were used by settlers in rural areas of Teesdale. The remains of large wooden roundhouses, dating from the Bronze Age, have been discovered at various sites, including Bracken Rigg.
The project received £7,000 from neighborhood funds from Cllr Richard Bell, Cllr Ted Henderson, Cllr James Rowlandson and Cllr George Richardson. The Banks Community Fund provided £5,000 and the Co-Op Community Fund also contributed. Friends of Montalbo School, which organizes fundraising activities throughout the year for the school, also provided £8,000.
Chris Minikin, Director, said: “We are very pleased with the roundhouse. It opens up many teaching and learning opportunities and complements the work we do in the Railway Heritage Garden and Grove.
“This space will support the larger agenda.”
“We are grateful to all the funders and to Julia Steele and Joanna Buchanan of Friends of Montalbo School who have been so helpful with the fundraising initiatives.
“We wanted the space to feel naturalistic and the round houses to have a different feel.”
Cllr Henderson said: ‘It is heartening to see that there are schools that are being helped to make improvements. It is money well spent. »