A NEW junior school building for Notting Hill & Ealing High School was officially opened on Friday afternoon by TV presenter and alumna Konnie Huq.

Staff past and present, architects, landscapers, engineers, project managers and contractors also attended, led by Girls’ Day School Trust CEO Cheryl Gianniovani.

Guests then toured the new sustainable building to see the triple-height atrium, library with lantern roof, photo-voltaic panels, sustainable wood cladding and acoustic insulation panels.

Kate Bevan, head of the junior school, said: “It was wonderful to gather together so many people involved in this complex and significant project.”

Prior to the ceremony, Year 5 and 6 pupils attended a Building the Future careers discussion with Carol Lees (Partner at Architects Hawkins Brown), Jade Pleass (Associate at Hawkins Brown), together with Cheryl Giovannoni, Cathryn Buckle (Director of Estates) and Laura Lincoln (Senior Project Manager) from the GDST.

“We have been using the school’s construction as a learning opportunity for the girls,” said Ms Bevan.

“Our older pupils loved this afternoon’s panel discussion involving women who played key roles in the project.”

The new building was completed in just 18 months.

The ceremony was held on the school’s Move to Ealing Day, a celebration of the day it moved from Notting Hill to its present site in 1931.

Senior pupils performed in or watched a play written by headmaster Matthew Shoults and staff were treated to afternoon tea in the main hall.

Chair of governors, Charlie Altman, and one of the oldest alumna, Madeleine Heggs, who left the school in 1948, were also present.

Other celebrations will punctuate the independent girls’ school’s 150th year.

A birthday tea party for alumni was held on the school’s birthday in September and a book of 150 memories of the school is due to be published soon.

Still to come, on March 11, the school will hold a concert at Cadogan Hall, singing a specially commissioned piece by composer Kerry Andrews.

A Parents’ Guild Anniversary Ball will be held on March 23, with all events raising funds to support a new bursary appeal.