The newest phase of The Big Build was marked this week by the arrival on site of a very large crane.

Anchored deep into the ground it has a vertical metal tower approximately 20 metres high on top of which sits the cabin from where the crane is operated.  The jib is able to lift a maximum of 16 tons (the weight of a London double-decker bus) and can extend to a distance of 55 metres, traversing the site through 180 degrees.  When the jib is vertical (in the ‘parked’ position) the crane is just over 60 metres tall and completely dominates the site. 

The crane will be used initially for hauling excavated earth out of the increasingly deep hole in the ground that will soon form the basement and sports hall.  As the piling is completed, it will lift into place the reinforced concrete slabs and metal superstructure and that will form the walls, floors and ceilings of the new building.  Eventually, it will lift the component parts for the roof and the dance studio before it is removed from the site by being lifted in sections right over the science block.