Willmott Dixon has been appointed to build a new secondary school in Sutton, South London.

The £36 million project will see the company develop the Passivhaus concept to build the new Sutton Secondary school. Construction is scheduled to begin before the end of the year.

The school, which will be part of the Harris Federation, is being delivered as part of Sutton's masterplan for the London Cancer Hub (LCH), a new life science innovation cluster focused on cancer research and treatment located at the former Sutton Hospital site.


Procured via the London Construction Framework, Willmott Dixon is working with the architect Architype and the QS Synergy to build the sixth form-entry school, which will accommodate 1,275 pupils and 95 staff once finished by summer 2018

Previously, the company built the UK's largest non-residential Passivhaus scheme, the Centre for Medicine for the University of Leicester. It aims to follow this by being the first company to deliver the same ultra-high energy efficient standard for a secondary school.

Roger Forsdyke, manager director for Willmott Dixon, said: "With our solid track-record for building high-quality, energy efficient properties that conform to the Passivhaus standard, we are proud to have been selected by Sutton to deliver this ground-breaking school.

"We'll make sure local companies are used whenever possible and are looking forward to delivering a school that will attract national attention for setting the standard in energy performance."

(LM/MH)