Morgan Sindall Construction has developed four new educational facilities across the East of England.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic saw the company strengthen its site working practices with strict hygiene and social distancing measures in order to deliver these four important projects in time for the start of the academic year in September.

The company has delivered new school places at Hethersett Primary School in Norfolk, Great Yarmouth Charter Academy, The Bridge School in Ipswich, and Warley School in Essex.

Hethersett Primary School is a new 420-place primary school and standalone nursery for 56 children, delivered for Norfolk County Council. Designed by NPS Property Consultants Ltd, the two-storey, two form entry school will open its doors ready for the start of the 2020/2021 school year. The £8 million project was delivered as part of Norfolk County Council’s £169 million county-wide investment programme, and includes a dedicated hard play area and play equipment for the students.

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Morgan Sindall Construction has also increased Great Yarmouth Charter Academy’s offering by 400 school places, 150 of which will be a new cohort of sixth form students. The scheme, delivered through the Department for Education (DfE) framework, included the construction of a two-storey science block building, comprising of nine general science labs, three specialist science labs, two seminar classrooms and two general classrooms. It also features a multi-use games area (MUGA), hard play area and extra space for bicycle and car parking.

In Ipswich, the team handed over special educational needs (SEN) school, The Bridge, which is part of the Unity Schools Partnership. The state-of-the-art new school building has been designed to help boost the academic offering for pupils. The new building was handed over to the school in July 2020 with demolition of the existing accommodation and landscape works to be completed during the Spring and early Summer 2021.

In Brentwood, Essex, the extension and remodelling of Warley School, secured through the Essex Construction Framework for Essex County Council, has opened a further 210 school places for children in the local area. The new classroom block will provide six fresh and inspiring teaching spaces for pupils, as well as a remodelling of the school’s kitchen facilities.

Peter Whitmore, managing director of Morgan Sindall Construction in the East, said: "As a business, we’re passionate about supporting the next generation by creating outstanding places for children to learn. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, our teams have delivered over 1,000 new school places ahead of time and on budget, by using an ideal hybrid of modern methods of construction (MMC) and traditional methods.

"We're pleased and proud to have completed these four important projects, which will open up new opportunities for children and bolster the educational offering across the region, while enriching local communities through our commitment to delivering social value."