Following full planning permission from North Northamptonshire Council, BAM Construction is beginning work on Weldon Village Academy, a new co-educational secondary school which is to be situated on land east of Weldon village, near Corby.
BAM has been appointed to the £30 million scheme by the Department for Education (DfE) under its national education framework. The school will be operated by the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT).
The new 8 form school is being built to meet the increased demand for pupil places in the area by providing 1,200 places for students in Years 7 to 11 and 300 post-16 places. The school is expected to be completed in time for the beginning of the academic year in 2023.
The new three storey school building will feature two teaching wings stemming from the main building spine, creating a protected courtyard. The rear of the building form will link to the school’s sports and recreation facilities that will include a sports hall, a four court multi-use games area, two full-sized football pitches and three five-a-side pitches.
The school will also provide safe, dedicated access to parking and drop off areas, as well as well as cycle and pedestrian links to the main building entrances and sports areas. A new roundabout will also be created on the A427 Oundle Road to support easy access to the new school.
The site layout will retain as much of the existing vegetation within the site as possible, as an integral part of the landscape scheme that will also incorporate a comprehensive sustainable drainage system.
“Having recently completed three successful projects in the East Midlands under the DfE’s national education framework, we are delighted to have been chosen for another flagship scheme for the region,” said Dave Ellis, Regional Director, BAM Midlands.
“Our education sector expertise has established BAM as a leading provider of education schemes in the region and, once again, sustainability will be central to our approach as we look to create a school that features eco-efficient features including hybrid façade ventilation units, heat recovery on ventilation systems, sustainable urban drainage features and low carbon technologies and daylight linking lighting.”
