Kier has been appointed to deliver the North Chadderton Secondary School expansion by Oldham Council, and this week a turf cutting event was held to celebrate the start of works on site. The project is the first Kier has been appointed to through the new Procure North West Framework, which Kier was appointed to earlier this year.
North Chadderton is one of the borough’s highest performing and over-subscribed schools and this expansion will provide new state-of-the-art facilities to add to its learning environment.
The 1670m2 project includes the design and build of a modern, fit-for-purpose library, a new science block comprising six fully-serviced laboratories and two prep rooms, a sports pavilion with modern changing facilities and a classroom, a café area and sheltered external hard standing areas.
Committed to leaving lasting local legacies, Kier will work with Oldham Council and the local community to deliver the following social value targets throughout the duration of the project:
- 18 local direct employees
- 124 hours given to local school and college visits
- 187 weeks given to local apprentices
- 16 hours given to support young people into work
- 50% local people employed
The project is due to be handed over at the end of the year.
Sean Fenner, regional director at Kier Construction North & Scotland said: “We are delighted to be starting works to develop the current footprint at North Chadderton School for Oldham Council. The new and improved learning environments will help to inspire pupils and the project provides modern facilities which will remove barriers to learning and increase the likelihood of children and young people realising their full potential. Kier is proud to be supporting the council with the delivery of this first-class teaching facility.
“This scheme builds on our extensive experience in the North West, where we have recently delivered over £36m worth of secondary education facilities in the last two years, including the Queensferry Pupil Referral Unit in North Wales.”
Councillor Shaid Mushtaq, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “We’re proud to start these important works, they will provide first-class facilities and support our commitment to giving children the best possible education.
“The expansion will also help to provide much-needed additional school places and we look forward to welcoming young people into their new-look school very soon.”
Gillian Hindle, CO CEO of the Oak Trust said: “I am delighted that this project has been funded to allow the school to accommodate the extra students and increase the capacity of the existing learning environment.
“Students in Oldham deserve schools that will allow them to fulfil their potential and be aspirational in their learning journey. We believe that these new facilities give our young people the opportunity to be positive and excited about their futures.
“The school places on record its thanks to Oldham Council for its support in providing additional high-quality facilities for the students and staff of the school.”
Natalie Palframan, Key Account Manager (North) for Procure Partnerships said: “We’re thrilled to be supporting these works to enhance the education provision at North Chadderton School. We’re pleased to be working with Oldham Council and our contractor partner Kier and looking forward to seeing the project make progress on site.”