St Mary’s Catholic College and Christ the King Catholic Primary School

The new development is located on the site of the existing Catholic school which dates back to 1871.

Thirty percent of the existing historic buildings will be retained and remodelled, which together with the new accommodation, will provide a primary school, a secondary school and a new faith building. At the heart of the school is a central concourse, formed by utilising an existing 1950s building. This runs the length of the school and visually and physically links all the elements of the scheme together.

Secondary school teaching accommodation is organised as fi ve faculty based learning houses; each designed to be fl exible and interactive, with three double sized classrooms located around a central double height presentation area. These general learning areas are supported by specialist teaching nodes, including large open plan science laboratories, in and off of the central concourse. These facilities together with the single storey primary school are located on the quieter eastern side of the site overlooking the school’s extensive grounds. SEN facilities and learning support accommodation is located throughout the school. The whole scheme provides for short term fl exibility and long term adaptability.

Although the two schools operate independently, they will share the same central facilities, with the concourse enabling movement between the schools and the learning houses for both staff and pupils. Learning ‘transition’ areas within both schools will assist pupils in their progression from a primary to a secondary learning environment. The single storey primary school and faith centre occupy the north east part of site to retain close links with the local community. Designed to replace the existing Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, the faith centre links into the hall of the primary school, so that it can accommodate a varying number of people depending on the occasion.

The new school building aims to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating through the specifi cation of materials with low embodied energy and the use of natural ventilation. The fabric of the existing buildings will be utilised to increase thermal mass, with photovoltaics and a wind turbine (subject to planning) used to create renewable energy. The school aims to showcase these features to engage and educate children about sustainable design.