North Birmingham Academy

The North Birmingham Academy project includes the construction of a new two storey extension block which connects with the existing school building on the site. The extension will accommodate new services such as laboratories, specialist science classrooms, offices, and general classrooms for the secondary school. Along with the construction of the new block, the team also carried out refurbishment to the existing school, whilst providing a new sports field.

Key Stats

Construction of a new two-storey extension along with refurbishment of the existing facilities
The new two storey extension will connect with the existing academy building and will create capacity for an extra 300 students, bringing the total capacity of the school to 1,450
Targeting BREEAM Very Good
On time & on budget
99% Waste diverted from site
68% of the spend within 30 miles of the project
Considerate Contractors Scheme (CCS) National Award – Gold
CarboniCa ran project with 113T carbon saved throughout the build

At a Glance

Client

Birmingham City Council

Budget

£11.4m

Completion

July 2024

Location

Erdington, Birmingham

Framework

Constructing West Midlands 2 Framework

Sector

Education, Secondary

Social value

£5.4m

Sustainability

99% waste diverted from landfill

Responding to the local community

North Birmingham Academy was first built over 10 years ago, and as the surrounding community began to further increase, Birmingham City Council needed to respond to the increased demand for school places. Therefore, a new extension block was constructed to supplement the existing school; addressing the need to maximise school places within the community. North Birmingham Academy will now accommodate an extra 300 students, taking the overall student capacity to 1,450.

A Collaborative Approach

Procured through the Constructing West Midlands framework (CWM2), and designed by Glancy Nicholls Architect, the project demonstrates the importance of early procurement and collaborative working relationships. Birmingham City Council (BCC), engaged with Morgan Sindall early, to assist taking the project through pre-construction and delivering the new extension and refurbishment. The team supported BCC and helped assemble the wider project team, which included, Project Managers Acivico, Structural Engineers Copeland Wedge Associates and M&E Engineers Couch Perry Wilkes and ORBS. Morgan Sindall supported the pre-construction process thoroughly, ensuring it was taken through planning, providing BCC with approximate cost plans and programmes for the project. The collaborative approach culminated in the project completing on time, on budget and with a client recommended score of 10/10.

Approach to design

Taking the councils aspiration one step further, the new facility needed to connect with the existing school, both literally and symbolically. As such, the building was constructed within the slope of the existing school ground, to ensure it would be the same height as the existing school.

Several options had been considered for the structure and materials for the new extension; however, it was decided that the new extension would match the existing building by using cladding and brickwork.

Saving 113T of Carbon throughout the project

The project team took part in the 10 Tonne Challenge; a challenge which empowers our project teams to work with our consultants and supply chain, to find intelligent solutions that reduce carbon from the buildings we deliver by a minimum of 10 tonnes. This project team achieved this by completing the following:

Committing to being a ‘Diesel-Free Site’ by only using HVO fuel and electric plants.
As part of this commitment, the concrete was delivered to site in an ‘Emixer’, the UK’s first electric ready mix concrete truck.
Changing the Portland Cement specification to a low carbon concrete for the foundations.

A total of 113T of carbon was saved on the project, which, all the savings were calculated using CarboniCa.

More about the 10T challenge initiative - here

Reinvesting £5.4m back into the local community

North Birmingham Academy has left a legacy within Erdington Birmingham, reinvesting £5.4m back into the local community. Our project team was involved in many charitable initiatives including the Business Fives Charity Football Tournament. Our Morgan Sindall team won the tournament, donating their £350 prize money to the Birmingham Women’s & Children’s Hospital Charity.

The project team also ran 500km in partnership with the school to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer. The team successfully completed the run in the month of November, raising £2,330 for Prostate Cancer UK.

As part of our wider commitment to help educate and support the next generation into the Built Environment, the project team built two timber frame construction walls for the students. The construction walls will allow students the ability to practice activities such as tiling to supplement their learning of construction. The overall mini project was approximately £10k and was donated to the school.

This new building actually makes me really proud and very humbled, because our students and their families really, really struggle; when I say that, North Birmingham Academy is a really special place with a real special, beautiful culture. That is fact and people feel it when they walk in. The students absolutely love the new building!"

Jo Paddock, Headteacher, North Birmingham Academy

It has been a pleasure to work with Morgan Sindall on this project. Throughout the time we have worked together, there has never been a time that focus on the student’s needs has been lost. This has been a fabulous experience!"

Lisa Maguire, Operations Manager for the Midlands at E-ACT