North Leamington School takes shape
Work on the flagship North Leamington Community School and Arts College is gathering pace as building work enters its final phases.
The new £30 million ‘school for the 21st century’ will be completed in time for pupils to sit at their desks at the start of the academic year in September.
North Leamington Community School and Arts College, which will be the new standard-bearer for Warwickshire schools, will be the most eco-friendly school ever built in the county.
Warwickshire County Council has worked closely in partnership with the school to create the building, which will have three faculty blocks, a sports centre and a main building ‘hub’.
The new school will provide extended services access for the local community and has been designed as a spacious campus incorporating environmentally-friendly features such as the recently completed ‘green roofs’, which are covered with alpine plants to aid drainage and encourage wildlife biodiversity.
Cllr Alan Farnell, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “The school is really taking shape and it is exciting that we are now beginning to see the fruition of our vision for the project.
“This will be a school that Leamington can be proud of and will provide an excellent environment to educate many generations of children from the area.”
Miller Construction (one of Warwickshire County Council’s Framework Contractors) started work on the site in September 2007. It was designed locally by Warwick-based Robotham Architecture.
The building will accommodate 1,500 11-18 year olds and is located at the Sandy Lane end of the current main school site.
Features include a 400-seat theatre, large sports hall, full-size all-weather surface, an adult learning/sixth-form centre and the four separate specialist faculty buildings for Maths and Science, Languages and Humanities and Art, and Design and Technology and Engineering.
A webcam has been installed for pupils, parents, staff and the public to view the progress being made on the site. The web address is http://www.northleamingtonschool.warwickshire.sch.uk/webcam.html