Introducing The Ode

Truro School unveils major new music centre designed to put music and the creative arts at the heart of school and community life.

A major new music and performance centre has opened at Truro School, creating a new home for music-making and performance and providing a significant cultural resource for the wider Cornish community.

The Ode brings together more than 1,700m² of new and refurbished space, including a multi-use performance hall, large rehearsal space, atrium, performance room, recording studio and specialist rock room.

The large-scale development has been designed as a long-term investment in the creative arts, in music, performance and cultural education, alongside enabling community performances, partnerships and events. Truro School already works with a range of local organisations, including Cornwall Music Service Trust and Roseland Music Society, and has strong links with Truro Cathedral and its chorister programme.

The new facility incorporates retractable seating, high-quality acoustic treatment, specialist data provision and carefully designed technical facilities, creating a flexible environment for teaching, rehearsals, ensembles, recording and large-scale performances.

The project presented a particularly unusual challenge for the design and construction teams: creating a high-volume music facility immediately alongside spaces used for statutory examinations, where silence is essential. Significant attention was therefore given to acoustic separation and the coordination of the building’s structure and materials.

At a time when opportunities for music and creative education are an important part of the wider conversation around young people’s education and emotional wellbeing, The Ode provides an example of how specialist facilities can support both school and community life.

The building will be formally opened on Friday 9 October at an event for the Truro School and wider community.

Truro School Head, Mr Andy Johnson, said:  “I am delighted to share that the name of this new facility is The Ode. There are many musical and creative associations, including the opening lines of Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s famous poem: ‘We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.’

“The Ode is the most significant Senior site development since the Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre (SBA). It was a dream for many staff, pupils and parents before the SBA and is now a place that will inspire the cultural and creative arts for School and community for the future, just as the SBA does for sport.

“This is about much more than a new building. It is about creating the environment and opportunity for young people to explore their creativity, discover what they are capable of, whether that is performing, playing, composing, producing or simply finding a lifelong love of music and creativity.

“The Ode will also enable us to improve other parts of our site to benefit our children. The old Music Centre is being converted over the course of this academic year to recognise and serve individual pupil ambitions and needs, including a new home for our medical centre, SEND department, Careers and Enrichment provision.

“Alongside this, we have increased capacity within our pastoral provision at Trevail House, including a dedicated counselling room. All of this work has a clear purpose: to help us know our children, challenge and support their ambitions and needs, and empower them towards the kinds of outcomes we know they are capable of.

“Who they become matters, and matters to us.”

The building was delivered by Classic Builders, who were appointed to undertake the construction phase of the project. The project team included Contracts Manager Neil Baker, Project Manager James Thomas and Commercial Manager Steve Joy.

For Project Manager James Thomas, the project was particularly rewarding because of its potential impact beyond the school.

“The project had some very unique detailing, including the arched windows to the Atrium and Large Rehearsal Space. What made the project special for me was that it not only improves the school facility, but will improve the availability of music and performance facilities for the wider community.

“I also felt that the approach from the School enabled us to integrate into the school environment and develop good relationships.”

The project presented considerable logistical and technical challenges, with construction taking place at the heart of a busy, live school site. Access was restricted by a narrow lane, deliveries had to be carefully coordinated around school drop-off and pick-up times, and there was limited space available for storing materials.

The removal of the original hall roof and integration of the balcony works were particularly challenging phases of the build, while the design also incorporated a number of highly detailed elements, including brick arches, specialist Atrium and Large Rehearsal Space cladding, retractable seating and specialist acoustic and technical provision.

The building also presented a unique acoustic challenge. The new music facility sits alongside spaces used for statutory examinations, where silence is essential.

Ralph Gifford MRICS, Associate Partner (Project Management) at Ward Williams Associates, who led the project management team, said:  “The brief to put the loudest school department next to the location where statutory exams are undertaken in silence should not be underestimated. This posed the design and construction teams with a significant challenge in ensuring coordination of details to mitigate noise transfer and fulfil the brief.

“The building represents a significant improvement in the school’s music facility and will allow the school and wider community to benefit from a first-class building.”
Ward Williams Associates provided Project Management and Cost Consultancy services throughout the project, from RIBA stages 1 to 6.

The project also represents an important step forward in sustainable construction, being one of the first major developments in Cornwall to fall under the Council’s requirement to achieve BREEAM Excellent. The building combines different structural approaches, with a steel-frame Atrium and reinforced-concrete main building, with design decisions carefully considered to meet the demanding acoustic requirements of the project.

Even the groundworks produced an unexpected discovery, when a car engine was uncovered during excavation for the foundations.

The project provided opportunities for pupils to engage with the development process too, with a Student Build Committee facilitated by Kat Dolan, giving students an opportunity to contribute to and learn from a major construction project taking place within their school.

Lewis Tolputt, Business Development Manager at Classic Builders, said:  “We were delighted to be awarded the contract for delivering such a prestigious and important local project.
“Having the opportunity to help create this purpose-built learning space is an absolute privilege.

“We’d like to thank the staff at Truro School, as well as those involved with the scheme – especially our site team and our incredible supply chain members.

“We wish all the students who use the building the very best for the future.”

The Ode is intended to become a home not only for the school’s extensive music programme, but for the many different ways in which pupils and students engage with the creative arts. With a breadth of ensembles, performance opportunities and musical experiences, the new facilities will support everyone from those discovering music for the first time to those pursuing ambitious performance and creative pathways.

For Truro School, the investment reflects a wider belief that education extends well beyond academic achievement. Alongside the school’s academic, sporting and co-curricular provision, The Ode provides another environment in which young people can develop confidence, creativity, collaboration and the courage to perform, create and express themselves.

As the school looks to the future, The Ode will also provide a valuable resource for the wider Cornish community, creating opportunities for performances, partnerships and shared musical experiences.