We are delighted to hear that Houlton School in Ashlawn, Rugby, has scooped five awards so far this year: 

• Best Use of Heritage in Placemaking, Planning Awards 2022 
• Project of the Year (£20m – £50m), Construction News Awards 2022 
• Creative Retrofit, The Developer Magazine and Festival of Place Pineapples Awards 2022 
• UK Regional Winner, Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project, RICS Awards 2022
• Education category, SPACES Awards 2022

The school, which welcomed its first pupils in September 2021, is housed on the site of former Radio Rugby. It is part of the Houlton development, which will see developer Urban & Civic deliver almost 6,000 homes alongside neighbourhood and community facilities. 

LocatED secured the Grade II listed former radio station site on behalf of the Department for Education in 2020. Our in-house technical and planning experts provided crucial advice on heritage considerations for the comprehensive restoration of the historic building. This supported the sensitive transformation of the site into a modern and inspiring learning environment, delivered by Urban & Civic.  

Houlton School is a true example of elegant, creative retrofit. The school is complemented with new modern buildings, including a purpose-built Sports England compliant sports centre, dance, acting and fitness studios. It also features a new state-of-the-art communications centre, fully resourced with a library and professional radio and television broadcasting station, continuing the historic legacy of the site. The former vast engine room of the site has been transformed into an impressive communal eating and socialising space for pupils to use before school, at break and at lunchtimes. As part of construction, transmitters and valves were donated to BT archives, the transmitter coil was donated to The Science Museum and locomotive engines were donated to the Severn Valley Railway.  

The school has contributed to the placemaking for Houlton; attracting families to the area, and with the well-regarded Transforming Lives Educational Trust operating the school, Ashlawn is seeing the delivery of much-needed, high-quality education. 

We are delighted that the project is being recognised so widely and extend our congratulations to everyone involved!

Images by James Britain, kindly provided by Urban & Civic.