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Editor's notes for context:
Timing: some projects are completed start to finish in one or two sessions, with others tackled in parallel to or in conjunction with other areas. Things like repainting the Old Gym was primarily completed in one day, with some follow ups. The bird toilet has been ongoing for several months to give plenty of time for the filler to dry.
Not exhaustive: These before and afters don't include everything we are up to - getting a drain snaked doesn't lend itself to photos for example, but the smell is unforgettable - and photos are snapped as/when we remember so might need a bit of imagination/rotation to make sense. If you are interested in helping improve this page, have more photos to share, get in touch! Also let us know if we've missed a project...
What's with the toilets? These are what we hear most complaints about from the kids, so we are slowly tackling them, be that with paint or more... invasive interventions. That said toilets have limited space for volunteers, and are frankly a bit soul destroying, so we try to mix in more fun projects like the Old Gym and the Art Corridor. Want to do something specific, or add something to the list? Get in touch either on the Reporting form or via email/whatsapp!
Tower block ground floor
Tower block ground floor
Lobby, primary corridor and bathrooms
✅ Completed February 2026
Before
After
Pictures are worth 1000 words, but they don't show it all. Not pictured is: the replacement of two double sockets that were cracked, purchase and installation of the missing water fountain piece so it's now back in service (and cleaning out the eye wateringly smelly waste trap!), repairing the fist sized hole in the door to the boy's toilet, sourcing and installing missing skirting, cleaning out crisp packets from the hallway heater, scrubbing very well adhered grime off the floor, and finally, the fact that the toilets no longer stink!
Contractors' toilet
Contractors' toilet
Now known as the funky toilet - many thanks to one student who did the initial design and painted with us!
What we did:
Scrubbed, scrubbed and scrubbed again. Tiled the wall behind the toilet roll dispenser to make cleaning easier and more effective. Painted all of the walls. Punched down the protruding nails. Repaired a loose skirting tile. Removed the 'gentlemen' sign and replaced with 'toilet'.
What remains:
Tiling the back of the toilet and the sink area, as well as addressing why the toilet is very slow to fill.
🚧 Work in progress
Before
Work in progress
Accessible outdoor toilet
Accessible outdoor toilet
What we've done:
Scraped the loose paint off the wall, applied Peel Stop, and painted over (walls, toilet roll backing board, plumbing boxing). Scrubbed the floor, scrubbed the pipe by the toilet. Removed the broken stall door lock, patched the hole, purchased and installed a new lock. Primed over the graffiti on the stall doors and elsewhere.
Still to do:
Vinyl applique around the stall lock on both sides. Fully rehabilitate the outside door. Address areas where paint has re-peeled. Investigate cause of peeling paint. Brighter colors on the walls!
🚧 Work in progress.
Before
Work in progress
Bird toilet (outdoor)
Bird toilet (outdoor)
This is the outdoor toilet next to the accessible toilet, called "bird toilet" because of the swallow that built a nest in it (it had eggs - see photos!).
What we've done:
Purchased and installed a missing toilet seat, scrubbed the floor and all sanitary items, painted a bird motif on the walls, scraped loose paint, primed/sealed bare plaster, 4 (!) layers of varying materials to fill the hole in the wall, scraped and painted the pipe, installed a door stop to help prevent future holes, and repaired the lock keep which was missing a screw.
Still left to do:
Final coat and sand back of the repair, prime and paint the patched area, and affix the loose skirting to the wall. The main door to the toilet also needs to be stripped and rehabilitated - watch this space!
🚧 Work in progress
Before
Work in progress
Before
After
Not pictured: the 4 layers of paint that somehow didn't get through the rust on the radiator. Honorable mention to swapping the hand soap and the towel dispenser to avoid this issue in the future! Could use a deep clean of the floor, and replacement of all of the boxing around the sanitary ware as/when budget allows.
Old Gym
Old Gym
✅ Completed August 2026
Special thanks to a crew of enthusiastic volunteers from AECOM who kicked off this project and did the bulk of the horrible boring jobs - scraping endless amounts of flaking paint, sugar soaping all the walls, taping a level line across the back wall, filling holes small, large (and/or inexplicable), sanding the dried filler, mist coating the now exposed bare plaster, and getting almost half of the area painted with the first coat. A few extra sessions with some parent volunteers completed the transformation just in time for the new school year in September 2026!
Before
After
Music Block
Music Block
🚧 Work in progress
What we did:
Front door - scraped off loose paint, repainted.
Toilet - scrubbed, painted, repaired the door frame which was no longer affixed to the wall.
Corridor - scraped off loose paint, repainted green part.
+ other door repair which had a similar door frame problem
Storage for musical instruments - secured (it was very wobbly!), sanded and refinished.
What's left:
Mural in the corridor, further painting and repairs to the downstairs toilet, addressing the downstairs toilet ceiling, addressing the upstairs toilet. Some cracking to the external door paint in one area which needs investigation and remediation.
Before
After
Art Corridor
Art Corridor
✅ Completed (for now) September 2026
The art department requested help with a dark corridor that needed a refresh and a blank canvas for future art works.
What we did:
Two layers of primer across all surfaces. Secured loose panelling in 3 places. Reaffixed skirting where it had come loose. Repaired holes in the walls. Removed (a billion) staples. Cleaned out a billion deceased bugs from the light fixtures. Secured the hook rail where it was loose. Replaced all broken hooks.
Before
After
German corridor toilets
German corridor toilets
🚧 Work in progress
What we did:
Installed lots of toilet seats where they were missing. Reaffixed a loose toilet to the floor. Removed (suspected; untested) mold from 2 ceiling pipes, walls, and wherever else looked suspicious. Scrubbed the floors. Scraped loose paint. Painted over graffiti on the walls, stall doors and entry doors. Cleaned skylights of spitballs, toilet brushes, and things we couldn't (and didn't want to) identify. Arranged for snaking of a clogged urinal and sink drain, so the urinal flushes could work again. Removed vandalism from the mirror. Repaired the wall where the sink had come off so it's ready for tile. Replaced a broken side of a toilet stall to restore user privacy. Repaired the BOYS sign. Painted over stains and marks. Sugar soaped the walls. Reattached loose/peeling skirting. Scrubbed the floors again (includes lifting gum/whitetack/unidentifieable sticky substances).
What's left:
HVAC - ventilation is inadequate so to resolve long term some sort of vents need to be put in. Missing tile has been partly reinstated but needs to be finished. One door hits the toilet when it opens so this needs to be addressed. Some fusework and handryer fixes required.
Some photos are up but the editor neglected to take afters for some reason... more to come!
Before
After
Mediatheque toilets
Mediatheque toilets
🚧 Work in progress
What we did:
Scrubbed the floor. Purchased and installed 2 locks. Scraped and stabalised painted wall. Painted some more cheerful designs.
What's left:
The flooring is (technical term) toast. Subfloor is unknown, but possibly also beyond its useful life. This isn't a DIY project so we are looking for funding as well as a company to supply and fit. If you know a company who could provide materials and/or labour, or would be willing to quote for the project get in touch. Could always do some more mural-like designs, we have plenty of paint!
Before
After
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