The headmaster at one of the county’s top independent schools has outlined its vision for the next 12 months as it prepares to mark a major milestone.

Paul Taylor was speaking at Framlingham College’s annual speech day yesterday. The school begins its 150th anniversary year in September 2014 and will be marking the occasion in style.

Its celebrations will include the opening of a brand new, two floor, glass fronted extension to the back of Paul’s Court onto the piazza.

The development - which has just been given planning permission - will include four new classrooms. There will also be a school cafe, a social “hub”, a new Sixth Form Resource Centre and enhanced careers and further education facilities.

“When we return after the summer break work will have started, and we are looking forward to it being fully operational by the start of next September, which is, of course, the start of our 150th anniversary year,” Mr Taylor said.

He said one of the driving forces behind the vision for the new sixth form centre was a desire to develop an entrepreneurial culture in the school in a bid to prepare students for the world of work and nurture the attributes and skills they require.

“I do not see this in any way as being at odds with our continued striving for academic and co-curricular excellence, but feel strongly that we would be serving our students well if we can establish a culture that nurtures and applauds innovation and initiative,” he said.

Commenting on recent Government reforms Mr Taylor said he approved of the move away from the retake culture and “incessant” modules throughout the year as it would free up more time for teaching and upgrade the status of exams.

However, he added that the regularity of change proved a challenge for schools, describing it as “exhausting”.