Plans for a new stand-alone sixth form centre which will support 300 students from across Suffolk, have been revealed. District councillor for Stowupland, Keith Welham, said: “From an educational point of view I am absolutely in favour but I do recognise the difficulties faced in relation to the increase of cars and traffic. The new two-storey building, which will be located on the grounds of Stowupland High School, will provide a new space for year 12 and 13 pupils to be taught A-level and BTEC courses.

An Ofsted report in March of this year said that the school ‘required improvement’, suggesting that governors should “secure improved facilities” to improve the standard of the sixth form.

The designs show that the building will house six classroom spaces, a specially designed media suite, a performing arts studio, a common room and a kitchen alongside a range of storage areas. There are also plans to build a new 43 space car park and a new bus bay which will see eight parking slots for coaches picking up or dropping off pupils.

The application, put together by Concertus Design and Property Consultants on behalf of Suffolk County Council, said that during consultation, the school requested the building to be “independent enough to provide sixth form students with a block with its own identity” asking for designs to provide “something special and mature”.

Stowupland Parish chairman, Sally Reeves, said: “We haven’t been approached by the council about this application yet. We have concerns regarding the number of car parking spaces available. We think that there should be enough parking on site for both the sixth form students and the staff to prevent them from parking in the village all day. I think that the sixth form centre would be good for the community however I am concerned with the number of cars that the additional pupils will bring and issues with parking in the village.”

If the new development is granted permission by Mid Suffolk District Council, it will be built on fields adjacent to Stowupland High School in Church Road.

The initial building will be able to accommodate 200 pupils but will have the potential to be extended for a further 100.

Credit: East Anglian Daily Times for this feature.

Students buried a time capsule as work began on the new Greenpark Academy. Greenpark Academy in King’s Lynn is expected to be completed by the start of the new school year in 2020, and will also feature a 56-place nursery on its grounds with the academy itself replacing St Edmund’s Academy, located two miles from the new site on Kilham’s Way.

The new academy is being funded by Norfolk County Council as part of its £169m plan to create new schools and expand others to create extra school places in Norfolk.

Jill Graver, the headteacher at St Edmund’s Academy, said the main difference between the current school and Greenpark was its location in the centre of the North Lynn community, adding that children currently had to pass through a “grimy underpass” which flooded on a regular basis on their way to St Edmund’s.

Ms Graver said: “We are really excited, but it’s a real bittersweet moment as it will be the end of St Edmund’s, that’s going to totally finish and we’ll be moving to Greenpark Academy, so it will be a fresh start. We’re really excited about the new school, we’ve seen the plans, in fact, we’ve had the plans for a long time and we’re looking forward to making the most of those brand new facilities.”

Ms Graver said that she and the staff would miss the old school, adding that she wanted it to celebrate St Edmund’s during its last year. However, she also said she was looking forward to a new heating system, whiteboards and furniture.

Land for the school was gifted to the county council by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk in order to support its work to deliver extra school spaces and modernise facilities.

The specialist Fen Rivers Academy will expand on to the old St Edmund’s site to provide new specialist school spaces as part of the county council’s £120m investment in Norfolk’s special needs education facilities.

Photography: Casey Cooper-Fiske.

Exciting plans to improve facilities for secondary school students at The Bridge School in Ipswich have moved a step closer. A groundbreaking ceremony involving students, staff and project chiefs has taken place to herald the next phase of building work at the school. Primary-aged pupils moved into a purpose-built building four years ago and now similar plans are progressing for those of secondary school age.

Tina Sharman, the interim deputy headteacher at The Bridge School, said: “This is really exciting news for students and staff alike. The primary school building has been a wonderful educational setting and we are looking forward to the new building having a similar impact. The fact that the two buildings will also be joined together will smooth the transition between primary and secondary education.”

Natalie Finnigan, Principal Quantity Surveyor at Concertus Design and Property Consultants Ltd said: “We are thrilled to be working with Morgan Sindall Construction and Suffolk County Council to help deliver this great project for Unity Schools Partnership and the local community.  Although early days in the construction process we are confident that the new school building will be a great benefit to the children studying at The Bridge and look forward to being able to hand it over for them to enjoy.”

Steve Holt, framework manager at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “We’re delighted to have been appointed to this important project which will enhance provision for young people with special educational needs (SEN) in the region. Morgan Sindall Construction has a real depth of experience delivering outstanding SEN schools across the East of England and we look forward to working closely and collaboratively with the wider project team and our local community as we deliver this much-needed facility.”

In May, The Bridge School formally joined the Unity Schools Partnership and chief executive, Tim Coulson, said he was delighted with how the work was progressing on the new building.

It is expected that the new building will be handed over to the school in July 2020 with the demolition of the existing accommodation and landscape works to be completed during the Spring and early Summer of 2021.

Gordon Jones, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills at Suffolk County Council, expressed his pleasure in being able to celebrate the start of the project: “The new building will provide first class facilities for students with additional needs and illustrates Suffolk’s ongoing commitment to improving specialist provision for some of our most vulnerable young people.”

We are excited to announce that two of our projects have been shortlisted for the SPACES Civic Building of the Year Award 2019 – Hyde Hall and The Pines Primary School.

We are also pleased to share the success of the following projects, alongside those shortlisted, to be featured in the SPACES 2019 Yearbook:

• Kesgrave High School Extension
• New Riverwalk Campus
• Phoenix Enterprise Park
• Exning Primary School
• The Limes Primary Academy
• Yoxford and Peasenhall

Congratulations to the project teams involved in these successful projects.

The Headteacher of Sybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmunds has taken part in a topping out ceremony to mark a milestone in the construction process for two new teaching blocks.

The same construction team that built Sybil Andrews Academy in 2016 has returned to build at the high school based on the Moreton Hall estate.

Barnes Construction is the main contractor for the scheme which will provide additional classrooms, staff rooms and break-out areas for the school. The contract also incorporates an expansion to the previously completed external sports facilities to include an additional MUGA area.

Concertus Design & Property Consultants is again project managing the build on behalf of the client, Suffolk County Council, as well as providing a multi-disciplinary design service, which includes architecture, interior and landscape, structural engineering and building services.

Trenica King is excited to see construction reaching a milestone stage, adding: “It is very exciting to watch the new teaching blocks take shape as we prepare to welcome more young students to the school.”

Pictured: Gary Knight (Associate Director, Concertus), Trenica King (Headteacher, Sybil Andrews Academy) and Mark Bailey (Director, Barnes Construction) on the roof of the first teaching block.

Mark Bailey commented: “It is great to be back helping the Academy further expand their facilities. Work is progressing well and the team is working hard to ensure that the first block is up and ready by September.”

Gary Knight added: “We are delighted to be celebrating this milestone at Sybil Andrews Academy, the team’s collaborative working goes hand in hand with the project’s success to date. A big thank you to everyone for their hard work so far.”

Now the roof is complete, and the building is watertight, work will start in earnest on the internal aspects of the first block. Then, when finished in the Summer, the team will move on to start construction of the second teaching block which is due to be completed in Spring 2020.

Work to build a multi-million pound new public services hub in Mildenhall – which will combine education, health and leisure facilities on one site – will begin this month. Construction on the £39 million major national project to provide a bigger and better school, a new larger swimming pool, a health and children’s centre, and a public library will get underway on March 18th this year. The hub will also create a Citizens Advice centre as well as space for Suffolk police, West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council.

R G Carter was awarded the building contract earlier this year and the company has already carried out enabling works at the site including a sewer diversion. The Mildenhall Hub is already recognised as a significant project in the government’s national One Public Estate Programme. James Waters, leader of Forest Heath District Council, said: “This exciting and ambitious project is about delivering on our promise of better 21st-century facilities shaped for the people that we represent, not just in Mildenhall but the surrounding villages. It is about the need for a better school for children and grandchildren to learn in, and a better swimming pool and other leisure facilities integrated with a new health centre. It is also about the various partners working even more closely together and making it easier for people to access services rather than having to journey from one location to another.”

Matt Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Health Secretary, said: “I’m delighted that construction of the Mildenhall Hub, recognised by the government as a major national project to bring education, leisure, health and local services together, will soon be underway. It represents a new and better way of delivering integrated accessible services for the community and I can’t wait to see the hub open and in use next year.”

Funding for the project is coming from Forest Heath District Council, the Department for Education, Suffolk County Council, Academy Transformation Trust, Sport England and Suffolk Constabulary. Susan Byles, Principal of Mildenhall College Academy, said: “There are few academies in the country that are purposely designed and built to be at the very centre of a community hub. The opportunities that this will bring to the students of Mildenhall are both unique and plentiful. Not only will our students learn in a modern, purpose built academy building but they will also have access to other amazing facilities such as a swimming pool and leisure centre.”

Edward Thomas, Estates Director for the Academy Transformation Trust, said: “Mildenhall College Academy has suffered greatly from the poor condition of the buildings and facilities along with operating a split site isolated from the town it serves. The development of the hub alongside support and funding from the Department for Education, has provided Academy Transformation Trust with an opportunity to address these issues, bring all education provision to one site whilst providing state of the art facilities for the academy’s pupils and staff.”

Warren Smyth, Chief Executive of Abbeycroft Leisure, said: “We are very excited about the leisure provision which will ensure that everyone, regardless of their age, status, background or ability, will have the chance to take part in sport or physical activity, in an environment that is fit for purpose.”

Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s police and crime commissioner, said: “This major development is an excellent example of joint working in Suffolk, something I have always been committed to as police and crime commissioner. This collective approach not only provides much better value for money for the taxpayer but will benefit all the residents and businesses in the Forest Heath area of our county with improved service delivery through a joined-up approach to public service, which is just what’s required.”

The completion of an important phase in the construction of the new West Suffolk Operational Hub has been celebrated with a special steel signing ceremony.

The event was held last Friday at the site at Hollow Road Farm in Fornham St Martin to mark the completion of the £23million building’s steel frame.

The project, which is being developed to meet the changing needs for waste management in West Suffolk, is a joint partnership between Suffolk County Council, Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

Representatives from the councils joined members of the Morgan Sindall Construction project team to sign a steel plaque, which will be fixed to a beam within the building.

In a joint statement, Cllr David Bowman and Cllr Peter Stevens, cabinet members for operations for Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury respectively, said: “Good progress is being made on site by a strong team whose commitment to making this a platinum standard project deserves to be marked. Everyone who signs the plaque will have the satisfaction of knowing this project bears their name.”

Former pupils of a Suffolk primary school are delighted after they got to build a £2.2m classroom facility for it. A topping out ceremony was held to mark the completion of its roof – one of six primary school expansions Suffolk County Council is currently working on. Ipswich based building firm SEH French began construction back in November. The annexe building, designed by Concertus Design & Property Consultants, will create an additional 105 places at the school.

“We’re delighted to be working on this project, which will help to create extra school places in Suffolk,” said Mr Girling. “We also have a bit of personal pride about this project, because both myself, the contracts manager for the project, Simon Hubert, and our project manager Steve Sharpe are all former pupils of the school, so we feel honoured to be able to give something back all these years on.”

Councillor Chris Studd, chairman of Claydon & Whitton Parish Council and Cllr John Whitehead, Mid Suffolk District Councillor for the Claydon and Barham Ward, hold strong links to the school and were therefore also in attendance at the ceremony. Cllr Studd said: “Five generations of my family have been pupils at Claydon Primary, and John is the chair of the school’s governing body, so it’s fantastic to be able to mark this occasion.”

Cllr Whitehead said it was “a pleasure” to be involved in the topping out ceremony. “I know the whole school community is looking forward to enjoying this beautiful new facility from September.”

Andrew Outram, Senior Quantity Surveyor at Concertus said: “Acting in a multi-disciplinary capacity, we wanted to create an extension that provides an exceptional learning environment, whilst also providing a building that architecturally sets itself apart from other buildings. At Concertus, we take pride in the projects we deliver and cannot wait to introduce the pupils to their new learning environment for the new school year.”

The skeleton of the new “The Hold” heritage centre and records office in Ipswich is now taking shape on the campus of the University of Suffolk. The framework of the building – which will hold most of the county’s records and also be a resource for historians and family history researchers – is now taking shape after the site was cleared last autumn.

The shape of the main part of the building, whose construction is being overseen by Concertus architects, can now be seen. It is being built by East Anglia civil engineering company RG Carter which has been keeping a photographic record of the work. The building should be filled out externally by the summer and is due to be handed over to Suffolk County Council at the start of next year.

The £20m project has been part-funded by a £10m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with the rest of the money coming from the county council, university and other sources. As well as holding the county’s records, The Hold will also include a cafe, seminar rooms and a 200-seat auditorium that will be used for lectures or other public events.

Once it is opened, the county record office in Gatacre Road in Ipswich will be closed. Record offices in Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds will remain open – although some of their more delicate artifacts could be transferred to the climate-controlled conditions at The Hold.

A spokeswoman for the county council said: “Progress has been very good on site, thanks to the relatively mild weather so far this winter. The groundworks and foundations are complete and substantial progress has also been made on the strongroom construction, where the archives will be stored, which will allow this area to start to dry out while the rest of the building is constructed. A substantial portion of the steel frame has been erected. The brickwork should begin before Easter. The groundworks included archaeological excavations, which unearthed some of the finest early post-medieval pottery found in the town to date, including imports from Germany and the Netherlands. This emphasises Ipswich’s status as an important, international merchant town.”

Credit: East Anglian Daily Times for this feature.

The same construction team that built Sybil Andrews Academy in 2016 has returned to build new phases of the high school based on Bury St Edmunds’ Moreton Hall estate.

Over recent months Barnes Construction have been carrying out a programme of enabling works in preparation for the main work to start. This has included creating new hard play areas, along with alterations to paths and paving. They have now moved on to start construction of the first of two new teaching blocks which will provide additional classrooms, staff rooms and break-out areas. The scheme also incorporates an expansion to the previously completed external sports facilities to include an additional MUGA area.

Concertus Design & Property Consultants is again project managing the build on behalf of the client, Suffolk County Council, as well as providing a multi-disciplinary design service which includes architecture, interior and landscape, structural engineering and building services.

Pictured are members of the construction team, Head Teacher, Trenica King and students from Sybil Andrews Academy. They were joined by Cllr. Karen Soons and Cllr. Gordon Jones, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills on-site before Christmas to mark construction starting in earnest with the excavation of the foundations.

Cllr Jones commented: “The new development will support the continued development of Sybil Andrews by providing a range of additional accommodation. This includes specialist teaching spaces, classrooms, larger staff room, an additional food service facility plus external areas. Another smaller teaching block will be completed in 2020, enabling the school to expand by 600 places to a capacity of 1200 students.”

Trenica King added: “This is another exciting milestone for our school. The new education block will further develop our specialist teaching rooms and provide more space for our new Year 7 students arriving in this September. We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this project for their hard work and commitment.”

Work is now underway to erect the steel frame on the first block which will be complete for September 2019.