Accelerating educational development, more than 600 permanent school places are set to be delivered in Surrey over the next two years, including provision for over 300 special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) students.

The expansion programme, which forms part of Surrey County Council's five-year capital investment plan, is being supported by multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard, and includes the delivery of five central projects across the region, with ten further projects in planning.

The largest of these is Hopescourt School in Walton-on-Thames, a 200-place all-through specialist school that is due to open in September 2025. Pick Everard worked closely with the school’s trust to develop the RIBA 2 concept design, which will be net zero in operation and utilise offsite construction methods to boost project efficiency.

The consultancy, which operates nationally on SEND school development, is also set to support Surrey County Council to deliver an additional 150 places at Hoe Valley Secondary School, alongside 25 places for key stage one and two children at Epsom Downs Primary School.

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Walton Leigh School, at the former Hurst Park Primary School site, as well as St John the Baptist School SEN unit, will also deliver 60 SLD/ASD and 30 ASD places respectively.

Akram Hamouda, associate director at Pick Everard, said: "This is a huge undertaking, which sees Pick Everard align closely with the development need in the local area. Through our expertise in the educational sector and close stakeholder engagement on each of the projects, we’re now in a position to provide more than 600 new places for children in the community, who will be able to grow and learn in a safe, high-quality environment.

"These schools are also part of Surrey County Council’s Climate Change strategy, delivering sustainability benefits that work closely with the council’s ambition to be a net zero county by 2050. With adaptive design and close consideration of SEND requirements, our work with Surrey County Council is a great example of the way in which we create new spaces that are equipped to handle today’s challenges and look to the future."

Through a contract signed under Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Project Management & Full Design Team Services Framework, Pick Everard has to date already helped Surrey County Council deliver over 200 school places in the county. This includes the development of Woking High School, an academy that provides specialist education for children with visual impairment needs, which was completed in March 2023.