Context

A £12 million new-build school in Buckinghamshire that accommodates the needs of the academy’s cadet force opened its doors in 2017.

Sir Thomas Fremantle School in Winslow is home to 400 students within the Year 7-11 age group after students and staff spent the first four years of the school’s life in a temporary building at the Winslow Centre. The sixth form unit opens in Sept to accommodate more students.

The design maximises accessibility to amenities for community use as well as providing exemplary teaching facilities, particularly in the areas of sport and ICT.

It is focused around a welcoming central entrance foyer, creating a vibrant ‘hub’ giving access to performance and sports facilities for the school and local community.

Kier Construction built the new 5,320 sq m building, designed by van Heyningen & Haward Architects, that cost £12 million from the Education Funding Agency.

Prestige Civil and Sports won the contract for all groundworks, drainage, floor slab and services plus a type 3 MUGA (multi-use games area) sports pitch.

Solution

Sports fencing manufacturer Zaun Ltd supplied 3m-high Duo8 Sports fencing for the combined tennis and netball court, and 4.8m-high Super Rebound panels for the MUGA, that includes integral floodlight posts to maximise usage.

Outcome

Head teacher Darren Lyon said he had received very positive feedback from students since the new building opened. He said: “We have five science laboratories, a food technology room and a performance hall."

“We also have a four-court sports hall, a miniature 3G football pitch, tennis and netball courts and a dance studio.”

Other additional facilities are more classrooms, a café and dedicated lecture spaces and storage for the school’s RAF Combined Cadet Force.