On the 30th September, The John Fisher School in Purley was pleased to officially open the new £2.8 million Sir David Lane Building. The school held a celebration in which students, staff and special guests saw the building blessed by Bishop Paul Hendrick and opened by Sir David Lane himself. The new building offers 10 new classrooms; including two new state of the art physics labs and a permanent home for the Geography department. As well as rooms for the History and Religious Studies departments. The move is certainly deserved by the Geography department, who move out of their old huts and into a permanent home. The building is also furnished with the latest technology, including motion sensor lighting, air conditioning and state of the art interactive whiteboards.

The building opened to much pomp and ceremony in late September and notable guests included Sir David Lane and Mark Graham. Sir David Lane, a former pupil of the school, discovered the cancer gene p53, which is known to cause up to 50% of all cancers. He was knighted in 2000 for his research into cancer cells and has also picked up other awards such as the Buchanan Medal in 2004. He returned to John Fisher for the opening of the building and gave a presentation to the students where he spoke of boys from the school going to “light fires of change”. Sir David Lane also spoke of his time at John Fisher and urged the students to take all the opportunities that were given to them, to behave and exceed expectations.

Head Boy, Joe Robertson said that “The new building is really special and is fitted with the best equipment to help both students and teachers excel. This building is a step forward for the school and shows the determination John Fisher has to move forward and constantly improve. Students in the present and future will excel in this environment.”

The building is light and airy with plenty of natural light pouring through the large windows, and the building is an ideal location for students to focus on their learning. For the Sixth Formers at Fisher, there is also a new study location with History student Jack Roffey commenting that “the building is ideal for focussing on revision and is in a secluded part of the school, making it perfect for getting on with work.”

The Sir David Lane Building shows that John Fisher is looking to the future and investment in facilities shows that everything is being done to ensure that the success being enjoyed currently at Fisher will be extended into the future.