Renovation of old Gosport grammar school to be completed by October, bosses say

Work is underway for the renovation of Gosport Gallery and Search, overseen by Hampshire Cultural Trust.

A fresh museum space, rooms for interactive learning and even a new courtyard have been promised as part of the renovation.

Bosses believe this work will transform the building into a community hub, becoming the beating heart of Gosport High Street.

Venue manager Wendy Redman said: 'The community has created this museum; people have selected the displays and written the text to go along with them.

'This will be so much more than just a timeline of Gosport. There's an element of that but within that will be individual stories and a more intimate history.

'The construction work is progressing really nicely from when it started earlier this year - it's full steam ahead at the moment.'

Alongside the museum space and galleries for hire will be a cafe and retail area, plus three interactive learning suites upstairs.

These rooms will allow people, young and old alike, to get hands-on with geography, geology and archaeology.

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Wendy said: 'We wanted to offer something different, and this is something you can't do even in the London museums.

'To actually hold a piece of taxidermy, pottery or an ammonite stone in your hands is such a unique experience, and can really inspire people to discover a new career path.

'The whole ethos is that we are creating a building for the community, by the community. We'll have lots of activities, displays for community groups and artists and social areas for quiz nights and so on.'

Behind the main museum will be a new courtyard, providing an outdoor space for groups to meet.

Inside this courtyard will be personalised tiles from the tag-a-tile campaign, where people and organisations have donated to help fund the refurbishment project.

To date, 264 tiles have been donated.

It is hoped that the building will be open to the public in October, with a full programme of activities from January 2023.

Hampshire Cultural Trust is looking for around a dozen extra volunteers for Gosport Gallery - for more information go to hampshireculture.org.uk/about-us/volunteer