A NEW building for the Anglo-American School of Sofia is to be ready by August 2006.
This was announced on May 19 at a ceremony in Pancherevo attended by US ambassador James Pardew, UK ambassador Jeremy Hill and Laurence Broyd, chairperson of the AAS board of directors.
Deputy Foreign Minister Gergana Gruncharova, Pancherevo mayor Stanislav Blagoev, Pancherevo chief architect Milko Milanov, MP Tatyana Kalkanova, parents, students and teachers attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
The board of directors decided in 2001 that a new building was needed.
The new campus is located on about 70 000 sq m of land, with a beautiful view of Vitosha Mountain.
The 8300 sq m school building will be able to accommodate 400 pupils, from pre-school to grade 12.
The new building will feature contemporary classrooms with modern facilities designed to benefit pupils and teaching staff.
The building has an original design, with a central administrative section, and radiating out from this, the elementary school building, the high-school building and the gym.
According to a statement by the school, the building will comply with environmentally safe building requirements. The accent is on natural materials - wood and stone.
There will be special rain tanks, that will be transparent, to allow pupils to observe the overall process of the water cycle. Another special feature is the skylights, to admit natural light.
The school will have a large library on an area of 300 sq m, standard size soccer field, tennis courts and a gym. At a later stage, the school hopes to build its own theatre and a swimming pool.
The project designer is Hillers of the United States, who have extensive international experience in the construction industry, according to the statement by the school. The International School in Budapest was also one of their projects. The co-designer is the firm ADA of Bulgaria. The construction is expected to be completed by August 2006.
The Anglo-American school was set up in Sofia in 1967 with the support of the United States embassy and the UK embassy to offer elementary education with English as the medium of instruction. The school currently has 172 pupils from 33 different countries, including Bulgaria. The educational institution is formally accredited by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the European Council of International Schools.