Students at the college have been using three classrooms as dormitories, in the absence of purpose built accommodation. The construction of new dormitories has been (and still is) one of our larger funding priorities and earlier in the year we were excited to receive generous donations totalling £26,438 through Hand in Hand for this purpose.

Before starting any construction work we were informed about the sale of a property just 300m from the college. It would be ideal for student accommodation with 18 rooms (each can comfortably accommodate at least 4 students), shared bathrooms, electricity already installed and mains water nearby. Having received approval to use the funding for this purpose, we went ahead to purchase the property. JJ now owns a property which can comfortably accommodate over 60 students, together with a warden, a short walk from the college site. The timing of the sale couldn’t have been better; funding was available but not yet spent – we heard of the sale just a few days before we would otherwise have spent a lot on construction materials!

Towards the end of October boys moved into this new property, and were very happy to be accommodated in smaller rooms of four, rather than one large classroom.

Communal area inside the property, and below, students in their new room

We have started building a girls’ dormitory on the college site using the balance of donations for dormitories:

Students levelling the land in preparation for construction work and building in progress – bricklaying and concrete practice students hone their skills.

The foundation has taken a lot more than anticipated due to levelling requirements and very soft soil in one area. Further funding is needed for the roof, windows and door – asap! If you would like to help with this, see the giving options through Hand in Hand. Choose JJCT as the fund and note “college dormitory” in the additional comments section.

THANK YOU!