School to reuse old dental clinic
A PLAN is being cooked up to give a building at Duntroon School that has become a ‘‘dumping ground’’, a new lease of life.
The school’s former dental clinic, a small building that has not been used for its original purpose for decades, will become a split technology room and work space.
Plans have been drawn up, the project is out for tender, and the resource consent application process is under way.
Duntroon School principal Mike Turner said it was hoped the building, which has been used for storage, would open for use next year.
The idea to convert the building into a technology room with cooking facilities and a work space were hatched at the start of 2018, before he took over at the school at the start of term four this year.
‘‘The board, I know, looked at . . . whether or not that building was sold or removed, because it was not being used.
‘‘They had a think about it and what the school needs, and what would benefit the kids at Duntroon School. They thought a multipurpose room with cooking facilities and bits and pieces would provide an experience we can’t give them now . . . it looks exciting.’’ Mr Turner said many small schools, particularly in rural areas, did not have the means to teach technology classes.
Pupils would be able to enjoy a food technology class at the school and it was likely science classes would also be taught there, he said.
‘‘As a small school, we are limited in space.
‘‘We can get them out there to try things they haven’t been able to try in the past. The science and technology stuff is amazing . . . smaller schools miss out on that a bit because they don’t have the facilities.’’
The project, funded by the Ministry of Education, is part of a fiveyear capital works funding agreement between the ministry and the school.