Project partners and representatives from the Weldon and Corby community joined together to officially mark the beginning of the construction of the new co-educational secondary academy for Weldon.
Building work has now started on Weldon Village Academy, a school that will be operated by Meridian Trust (formerly known as Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust). The build is in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE), BAM Construct UK, the Contractor, and Mott MacDonald, the Technical Advisor.
The school will serve students from across the whole of Corby and surrounding villages. Once complete, it will be an 8 Form Entry Secondary School and 6th Form. The school will provide a total of 1,500 school places, including 300 students within the 6th Form.
The new three storey school building will feature two teaching wings stemming from the main building spine, creating a protected courtyard. Also within the site will be sports and recreation facilities that will include a sports hall, a four court multi-use games area, two full-sized football pitches and three five-a-side pitches.
The school will also provide safe, dedicated access to parking and drop off areas, as well as cycle and pedestrian links to the main building entrances and sports areas. Additionally, a new roundabout will be created on the A427 Oundle Road to support easy access to the new school.
The construction team is currently busy levelling the ground to provide a flat surface for the school building and the sports pitches, ready for the start of construction of the steel frame. The school is expected to be completed in time for the beginning of the academic year in 2023.
In a short speech, Mark Woods, Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Trust, spoke of how the Academy will be a hub of education for many years to come based in a superb location.
He said: “We are very pleased to have started off this year with the commencement of the build of Weldon Village Academy, particularly after the hurdles we have had to overcome as a society over the last two years. Thank you to all the project partners to getting us to this stage and for the smooth progress with the build so far.
“Meridian Trust exists to provide, support, and champion high-quality education at the heart of local communities. We greatly look forward to when this school opens for the benefit of the Weldon and Corby communities.”
To mark the ceremony, attendees were able to add their signature to a steel beam which was then lifted into position on the main frame for the school building.
Andy Gates, Regional Head for the Department for Education Free Schools Capital, said: “The Department for Education are pleased to be working with BAM Construction and Meridian Trust to deliver the new Weldon Village Academy. With construction already underway, the new school will provide 1,500 places to support growing numbers of pupils in the area, in a building that embraces new sustainable technologies to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption. We are all very excited to have this new school opening in September 2023.”
Dave Ellis, Regional Director – Midlands for BAM Construction, said: “Having recently completed three successful projects in the East Midlands under the Department for Education’s national education framework, we are delighted to have been chosen for another flagship scheme for the region.
“Our education sector expertise has established BAM as a leading provider of education schemes in the region and, once again, sustainability will be central to our approach as we look to create a school that features eco-efficient features including hybrid façade ventilation units, heat recovery on ventilation systems, sustainable urban drainage features and low carbon technologies and daylight linking lighting.”
Supporting the community is also a major objective for the project, where the sports facility will be available for community hire and holding sports events in the area.
The development brings positive impacts to the environment through a biodiversity enhancement strategy with a focus to maintain the ecological value of key habitats and species features on site, as well as provide an overall biodiversity net gain as a result of the development.
Community engagement is equally important for the project, with the team engaging with the local community throughout the construction programme, with opportunities for apprenticeships and visits.
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