Camilla to open Marlborough school and East Grafton hall

11:14am Tuesday 9th February 2010

By Nigel Kerton

Camilla Duchess of Cornwall will officialy open the new site at St John's School in Marlborough when she visits later this month.

Camilla will be at the school on Tuesday, February 23, to meet pupils and staff, tour the new buildings and unveil a plaque to commemorate the official opening of the school.

St John’s is thought to be the only self-funded new-build state secondary school in the UK.

The new school opened in December 2009 and has been funded by a combination of income from sale of land and fundraising. St John’s students are aged 11-18 and from a mainly rural catchment area of 250 square miles.

A Clarence House spokesman said: "The school’s Community College demonstrates the school’s commitment to engaging with the local community, including ensuring that school facilities are made available wherever possible to meet the needs of community groups, sports clubs and other voluntary organisations."

Later the same day Camilla will open the new East Grafton Village Hall, and meet members of the parish and community.

This new hall has been achieved by the commitment and hard work of the local community.

The previous Coronation Hall was built in 1937, on land donated by local benefactors of the 20th century, to celebrate Coronation of King Edward V.

In 2006 the Grafton Parish Council took over responsibility for the hall which was, by then, in need of repair.

The fabric and facilities were below the legal standards for hiring. 82 per cent of the parish residents responded to a “what shall we do with the hall” survey.

There was unanimous support for an effort to raise sufficient funds to renovate at least and, at the very best, rebuild the hall. The community pulled together and organised fund raising events with enormous success. Volunteers came forward and teams began to emerge as functions became larger thereby attracting wider participation.

The Parish Council started the long process of applying to the Big Lottery for funds which would enable a new hall to be built.

The Big Lottery application was successful and this news was announced at the 2008 Christmas Party – at the same time the ambitious promise was made that the new hall would be ready in time for the 2009 Christmas Party.