St John’s Prep boys, staff and honoured guests attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Prep building on 21 May.
The state-of-the-art facility will serve the Johannian community for many years to come.
The Community of the Resurrection built St John’s College on a Venture of Faith 121 years ago.
Headmaster of St John’s Prep Patrick Lees said, “Our dream is that in another 120 years, Johannians will look out over the amphitheatre and Burger Field, look east and say – ‘The prep building has stood the test of time, served thousands of Johannians and it’s still going strong’.”
Lees encouraged boys to be cognisant of where they are standing. “In 30 years, when your sons are at the Prep, you can tell them that you stood on the foundation of the magnificent building they are lucky enough to be educated in.”
The new building, which will interface with the existing Prep facilities, will include 18 new interactive classrooms, multifunctional classrooms, collaborative breakaway workspaces, new science labs and a multipurpose hall with a focus on sustainable design that is resource and energy efficient.
Prep chaplain Father Ian Stevens, aided by Grade 7 Mogorosi Motau, blessed the site of the new building, and Grade 3 David Mulenga represented the boys of the Prep, turning the soil. David is the son of an old boy and former teacher.
Project manager for the construction Cliff Midgely explained that the shovel used to turn the soil on the site was the same one used to mark the start of previous building projects at the school.
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