Overview

LocatED was commissioned to secure a site in order to address a significant shortage of new school places in the London Borough of Newham.

A new site for a primary school, on Sugar House Island in Stratford, was subsequently identified and secured. LocatED took the project forward in the spring of 2019, overseeing construction and facilitating a turn-key agreement in partnership with a developer, to deliver the new school providing 420 places upon completion in 2021.

Challenge

The London Borough of Newham had an expanding population and ever-growing need for school places. The timing of the project coincided with Covid and the outbreak of the war in the Ukraine, which had the potential to seriously impact delivery and the budget respectively.

With a severely limited availability of sites, it was perhaps no surprise that when LocatED did identify a site, it required several creative solutions. The site itself was contaminated having been home to both a print factory and a gin manufacturer. In addition, the site size was highly constrained and the school had a long list of unique curriculum drivers it wanted to fit into the building. Finally, the planning authority had specific requirements for the site to be redeveloped, including a ‘wall of note’ that needed to be safeguarded.

Solution

LocatED identified a site and negotiated terms with the landowner and developer, who submitted the planning application, and procured the building and fit-out works to plans and specifications defined by LocatED in line with the DfE and school requirements.

The site was decontaminated by contractor Vastint, allowing work to proceed. Building up over four storeys was the answer to the site’s space constraint, allowing the school to develop spaces that fit its Head/Hands/Heart approach. Delivery of the school was an intergral part of the developer’s much wider placemaking plans.

Upon completion, on time and on budget, the school trust entered into a commercial lease with the developer. This deal structure allowed LocatED to transfer the planning and construction risk to the developer, without sacrificing quality of design or durability of materials. As well as tapping into the vibrant redevelopment of Sugar House Island, School 360 represents excellent value for money to the taxpayer, compared with similar new primary school projects.

Impact

The result of this collaboration is a truly unique primary school spread over four storeys, including an indoor sports hall and outdoor play areas both at ground level and on the rooftop, with outdoor learning spaces helping to develop a whole spectrum of skills.

The school delivers a high quality modern learning environment for 420 pupils. As part of the new development on Sugar House Island, the school gives residents access to its sports facilities, and benefits in return from being part of the thriving local community, from new apartment schemes and social enterprises to creative organisations and cultural institutions close by.

In 2022, School 360 was highly commended in the Education category of the Spaces Awards. This achievement, recognising innovation and excellence in construction, is testament to the collaborative efforts of LocatED, the developer and the Department of Education.