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The Morgan Sindall, St Marks School and Faithful and Gould Project team on the roof of the building at the topping out event

Southampton’s first all-through school takes shape

News |

Morgan Sindall Construction, Southampton City Council and Faithful+Gould have celebrated reaching the half-way stage of delivering the city’s first all-through school with a topping out ceremony.

Guests saw for themselves the dramatic progress being made transforming the St. Mark’s Church of England Primary School off Shirley Road in the city’s central district, which will cater for pupils aged 4 to 16 years.

The project is creating an additional 900 school places and is part of Southampton City Council’s drive to meet the needs of its growing population by adding 1,500 new secondary school places in the central area by 2023.

Work on the landmark project started in June 2020 and saw the demolition of the existing primary school. During the subsequent excavation of the site, the archaeology team found evidence showing 200 years of school life at St. Mark’s. This included a 19th century Blackwood & Co ink bottle among other findings plus over 30kg of finds dating to the Late Iron Age – early Romano British period (around 200BC to AD200) which is a rare occurrence in this part of Southampton.

Clifford Kinch, area director of Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “We’re delighted to reach this major milestone on the St Mark’s CE All-Though School and see this landmark project really taking shape, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. The new school will provide first-class educational facilities for both current and future generations of pupils to enjoy. We look forward to continuing our close working relationship with Southampton City Council for the next stage of this much-needed school which will serve the Southampton community.”
Councillor James Baillie, Cabinet Member for Education for Southampton City Council, praised the project: “This project demonstrates our commitment to improving the learning of our children across the city by providing excellent education opportunities. The pupils of St Mark’s C of E School will benefit from best-in-class education facilities, offering greater learning opportunities and ensuring children get the best possible start in life. We want a city in which people can start well and have happy and fulfilling lives in a place they’re proud to live, learn, work and hand to future generations. We are getting Southampton moving by creating a city of opportunity for all so we can be a happy, hopeful, and ambitious city. I want to thank all those involved in this amazing project and I look forward to seeing secondary school pupils starting their first ever term here in Autumn next year.”
Mark Postill, head of the Southampton office of Faithful+Gould said: “As the professional team chosen to oversee the project and cost management of the design from inception through to construction of the school, we are so proud to be making such a positive impact in our local community. We thank all the delivery partners involved for their passion and hard work to get us to this important milestone. As well as the incredible facilities that will be created, we have worked hard to ensure that the design and construction processes themselves deliver significant social value to the City of Southampton and its communities. We’re really looking forward to the school welcoming its first new students in September 2022.”

Morgan Sindall Construction was appointed to the project through the Pagabo national framework for major construction works.

Ben Jones, regional relationship manager at Pagabo, said: “We’re pleased to see this impressive project reach such an important milestone. Remarkable progress has been made through challenging time and it’s great testament to the dedication, hard work and commitment of the project team that such a vital project for the local community is well on the way to being delivered.

“Having supported Southampton City Council with the appointment of Faithful+Gould and Morgan Sindall, we are delighted to see the two companies delivering as expected. The project delivery is moving along nicely and the social value generated is equally proving a success for the area. The benefits have included achieving 85 per cent local spend, a 90 per cent reduction in carbon emissions and the appointment of 12 apprentices to the project.”

  • For more information about this news release please contact Chris Hulme at Influential on 07971 350116 or email [email protected]