Saddleworth High School

New build 10FE High School which comprises of a new 10FE High School for ages 11 to 16 with for a total number of 1,500 pupils. The total built floorspace equates to 10,500 sq.m gross, with outside areas including sports pitches, playing fields, and areas for external teaching and play.

Date

2022

Client

Tilbury Douglas

Value

£29m

The previously developed part of the site was historically used for manufacturing purposes; The new school puts this brownfield site back into productive use. The new build spaces provide an outstanding education facility, delivering innovative teaching facilities for future generations. The new school provides a safe learning environment with on-site sports facilities and an improved selection of learning spaces.

The driving factor behind the proposal was to place the children at the heart of everything the school does, whilst providing a safe, secure and stimulating environment that will develop their skills and creativity. Based on a Home-Base teaching approach consisting of 10 classrooms with specialist areas arrangement.

The building makes use of existing site topography and spans several of the existing retaining walls on site. Instead of back filling these areas between the existing walls and the proposed building, covered areas are utilised to enhance the building environment and provide additional external teaching.

The façade of the building is broken up into different materials which identify different volumes of the overall mass and help to break down the scale. General organisational principals for the external teaching and social spaces have been informed by the simple linear form of the building and the need to respond to the challenging site levels.

Project gallery

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The Challenge

Aside from the size of the school and the variations in levels across the developable site, Planning Approval was the biggest challenge for this project. Due to the access road being a single point of egress/ingress to the site via a narrow bridge and it is coming off a narrow residential road, the local residents raised concerns of the traffic generated and it’s impact as the outcome for the additional 1500 pupils to the area. A group of residents succeeded in delaying the Planning Approval by initiating a Judicial Review.

The Solution

Our Team along with appointed Traffic Consultants closely liaised with the Council and put in a separate application for reconfiguring the access bridge, whilst also providing additional community parking and wider splays to the main access road for ease of vehicular traffic. This work was approved and commenced before any construction for the new school.

The Outcome

The outcome was additional community parking provision, wider road for easing the already existing traffic, a robust travel plan developed together with the school and a wider access bridge into the site. Cycling provision has also been allowed for to encourage sustainable travel. Various access points to the school have been considered and allowed for as part of the access strategy, whilst retaining safeguarding and security to the overall school.