Balfour Beatty has completed a £14.5 million scheme to construct a new teaching block and sports building at the Ipswich Academy for Suffolk County Council and The Learning School Trust.

At a ceremony the new facility, which will serve over 900 pupils, was formally opened to parents, students and teachers by the Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP.

The 15-month project also involved the creation of four adjoining teaching areas as well as a new sports hall with changing rooms, a dance studio and an all-weather football pitch.

The project was designed and delivered utilising Building Information Modelling (BIM) which as well as providing value-engineering and aftercare building management solutions, enabled the customers to have a virtual view of the project so the design could be optimised to meet their expectations.

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The Balfour Beatty team achieved high levels of sustainability on the project through the use of recycled material and water saving measures in the construction. The buildings also use energy producing features such as solar panels and a biomass boiler designed to ensure that long-term running costs are minimised and they have high levels of carbon efficiency.

Balfour Beatty has successfully completed a number of academy projects in East Anglia, in Kings Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Norwich, with a further Academy to be delivered next year in Felixstowe.

Steve Bolingbroke, Chief Executive Officer of Learning Schools Trust, said: "Balfour Beatty made the effort to understand how the building would be utilised and what the most suitable solutions for the end users would be.

"The crucial stage for us was the decisions and discussions made around design. We had open conversations where we all looked for the best solutions in the long-term. This is one of the best experiences we have had with a contractor."

(CD/IT)