Nottinghamshire County Council has continued its investment into education and schools with the opening of the new £14.8m Millside Spencer Academy in East Leake.
Millside Spencer Academy is the latest new build project that has seen the County Council work in collaboration with Arc Partnership, who designed, and cost-managed the project, and oversaw the construction through its delivery partner Morgan Sindall Construction.
The 315-place primary and 26-place nursery school, located on former farmland on Rempstone Road in the heart of the new David Wilson Homes housing development in the village, will be run by the Spencer Academies Trust.
Councillor Tracey Taylor, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, joined pupils, staff and governors, as well as partners, at the official opening and was given a tour of the school by Year 5 and 6 pupils.
Cllr Taylor commented: “What an incredible learning environment for pupils in and around the East Leake area.
“As a council, we have a duty of care to make sure there is a sufficient number of school places across Nottinghamshire so that every pupil can have access to good quality education, Millside Spencer Academy certainly has all the elements to achieve this.
“New schools like here in East Leake are very much an investment in our children’s future and from what I’ve heard from pupils and staff they are delighted with their new surroundings.”
Councillor Keith Girling, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, added: “Over the last few years, the County Council’s major and ambitious school build and improvements programme has seen millions of pounds invested in schools.
“We are committed to making sure we build schools in areas where capacity may be an issue due to new housing developments.
“The school here, which was delivered on time and within budget, is a shining example of collaborative work at its best.”
Key design features of the new school include:
- All classrooms and the dining room have been fitted with acoustic ceilings to aid hearing and minimise noise disruptions
- The external rubber crumb used for the nursery’s play area and under the children’s climbing equipment (see image attached) is made from Nike Grind, which consists of recycled Nike trainers
- The carpark features 4x electric vehicle charging stations
- It has also been future-proofed to allow conversion of all 27 parking spaces to electric charging stations
- Automatic skylights which the teacher can open/close
- School features a highly efficient air source heat pump for heating and circulation
- The school is well insulated whilst also achieving an impressive airtightness score of 3 – the industry average is 5
- All ground floor classrooms have individual access to outside space
- School has been installed with a water sprinkler system
School principal Sophia Thorne said: “We could not be happier with our new building, which has been designed with children at its heart. The specialist teaching spaces, on-site woodland and outdoor areas make it a stunning environment for both staff and children.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to Nottinghamshire County Council, Arc and Morgan Sindall, as well as the support and vision of Spencer Academies Trust, who have opened a school which will inspire our children for years to come.”
Sara Williams, Head of Pre Construction at Arc Partnership, said: “It has been an honour to work as part of such a supportive, collaborative team to design and deliver Millside Spencer Academy.
“To deliver this project on time and budget with colleagues from Nottinghamshire County Council and Morgan Sindall Construction has been a really positive experience and it’s a pleasure to know the children of East Leake are benefiting already from this truly inspirational learning environment.”
Richard Fielding, area director at Morgan Sindall commented: “We are thrilled to hand over Millside Spencer Academy to the community, a project which has not only delivered vital pupil places for the local area, but also inspiring and modern learning environments which is integral to learning and development.”
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