A special beam-signing ceremony was held at the school to celebrate the completion of the building's steel frame, with employees from main contractor ISG and the North West Construction Hub joining members of the city council and the Prospere Educational Trust on site to mark the event.
Once completed, Orchard House will cater for boys and girls with an Education, Health and Care Plan for significant additional needs, with space for 150 pupils aged between 11 and 19 years old. The Prospere Educational Trust has been chosen to run the school and has worked with the project team as part of a collaborative design process to ensure teaching methodologies and aspirations are met through the building and its facilities provision.
The single-storey building, designed by JM Architects and Ridge and Partners, additionally functions as a key community hub, and outside of school hours its double-height main hall space and external games areas will be available for use by a wide range of local groups and clubs.
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The new school's classrooms will have direct access to dedicated outdoor teaching areas, with external spaces subdivided to create both secure and safe spaces for pupils. Each classroom will also have its own group room, to facilitate additional one-to-one teaching support, and specialist teaching spaces have been designed in consultation with the Trust to create areas that are tailored for the individual needs of pupils.
With modern facilities and a high-quality environment, the new school will enable more Manchester children to meet their full potential and benefit from the city's growth. The scheme is also fully aligned with Manchester’s Low Carbon Strategy and designed to meet the stretching BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental target, creating an educational asset with long term operational and environmental performance.
Funded by the city council and procured by the council through the North West Construction Hub, the school is scheduled for completion in summer 2025.
Mike Kennedy-Gill, ISG framework manager, commented: "This is an important milestone for everyone with a passion for providing children with the correct learning environments to thrive. With demand for specialist education settings outstripping supply across the UK, those pathways that enable new schools to open their doors to pupils in the most efficient timeframe must be prioritised.
"The NWCH remains an outstanding example of a capital works framework that optimises efficiencies and value across the entire construction process so that vital community resources can be up and running to engage and inspire children in the shortest possible timeframe."
The new school joins a family of special schools in Manchester that currently includes five primary schools, two all-through primary to secondary schools, and seven high schools.
