The construction of Whipman Woods Flying High Academy in Gateford, Worksop, is on track, with Morgan Sindall Construction set to complete and hand over the building by mid-August.

Designed and project managed by Arc Partnership - a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) and SCAPE - the project is being delivered by Morgan Sindall’s team in the Midlands.

Once complete, the school will provide the latest learning facilities and associated playing areas for up to 210 primary and 26 nursery students. Built using a traditional steel frame and brick, render and Kalzip vertical cladding, the school has also been designed to allow for future expansion, taking the total number of pupils up to 315 if required.

To mark the project’s progress, Cllr Sam Smith, Cabinet Member for Education and SEND at Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) was joined on a tour of the school by Cllrs Tracey Taylor, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, and Cllr Keith Girling, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management. All stakeholders then gathered to plant a ceremonial tree in the school grounds, which pupils will be able to admire for generations to come.

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Councillor Sam Smith, Cabinet Member for Education and SEND, said: "This is a much-needed school for the Gateford area with the recent increase in housing numbers and is a clear example of mine and the County Council's commitment to prioritising the delivery of new schools across the county where they’re needed most.

"Over the last three years, we've invested tens of millions of pounds in our children’s education, with the expansion of existing and building of new schools across our county, and in recent weeks I’ve announced the Council’s plans for investing £40 million into our Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) provision with the aim of creating almost 500 new places before 2027."

As part of Morgan Sindall's Intelligent Solutions approach, the project has utilised Building Information Modelling (BIM) during the design and delivery stages, benefitting from coordinated and clash detected 3D models which also helped give greater programme certainty.

Its Intelligent Solutions approach has also been adopted around sustainability, with air source heat pumps, solar panels and efficient insulation all contributing towards the school being net zero in operation.

During its recent CCS visit, the project gained two 'Best Practice' innovation points. one of these were awarded for the use of Community Insights, an online tool that helps identify and analysis local community needs.

This saw the site team work with Social Enterprise, Volunteer it Yourself (VIY), to help with the renovation a local youth centre. Through our support, more than 30 local young people completed a three-week work placement at the Carlton Youth Centre, with on-site professional tradespeople providing valuable mentoring and training.