Top marks for contractor as it tops out at new Nottinghamshire school

A topping out ceremony has taken place at a new £6.3m school in Nottinghamshire, marking progress by the main contractor at the 210-place primary and 26-place nursery.

Bingham Primary School, designed and project managed by Arc Partnership on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council, is being delivered by Morgan Sindall Construction.

In attendance to celebrate the event was Nottinghamshire County Councillor, Sam Smith, Arc Partnership’s head of regeneration and major projects, Aaron Beattie, as well as headteacher Gayle Ellis and director of governance and operations Daran Bland - both from the Community Inclusive Trust (C.I.T), a sponsor of the school.

The structure of the school is now complete with windows fitted. Later this month attention turns to the completion of the roof, with internal partitions and walls set to follow, as well as the installation of flooring and mechanical features such as sprinklers.

The project coincides with the development of 1,050 homes in Bingham and will meet the needs of the expanding market town once complete in August 2022.

So far, nearly half of the total project value has been spent with subcontractors within a 10-mile radius of the site. Morgan Sindall Construction has also facilitated two work experience placements and staff from C.I.T have attended site walks.

For further community collaboration, there are plans for the main contractor to sponsor Bingham Town FC and Bingham Cricket Club as well as carrying out improvement works at the clubhouse.

The new school has been designed to allow for future expansion if required, taking the total number of pupils up to 315. It is part of the council’s Romans’ Quarter development, which includes a new community centre and park.

The one-storey 1,405 sq. mtr school features seven classrooms, a multi-use games area (MUGA), playground and a new hall, which doubles up as a dining and indoor sports hall. Parents and staff will also benefit from a car park with 22 spaces including two disabled spaces.

The building will be highly self-efficient with air source heat pumps, high-efficiency lighting and two electric vehicle charging stations.

Morgan Sindall Construction is delivering the £6.3m school as part of the council’s £7.9m development.

Arc Partnership – a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and public sector procurement specialist SCAPE, appointed Morgan Sindall Construction through the SCAPE Regional Construction framework.

Richard Fielding, Midlands area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, added: “We want to thank the C.I.T, Nottinghamshire County Council and Arc Partnership for their collaboration on this exciting new development. The building is starting to take shape and we are looking forward to handing over the keys to the new school in August.

“Once complete, Bingham Primary School will be an impressive addition to our portfolio of schools in the region and another development delivered in close partnership with both Arc Partnership and SCAPE.

“Thanks to early-on engagement between ourselves and the client, works are progressing well and our local supply chain are working tirelessly to help deliver this project. As always, we’re avoiding disruption to the area as little as possible with material deliveries arranged during off-peak travel times.

“Towns are growing across the country which is why the construction of new schools like Bingham Primary School are vital in keeping communities vibrant and providing exceptional educational facilities to inspire the next generation.”

Daran Bland, Director of Governance & Operations for C.I.T: “It has been a hugely exciting and rewarding experience working with Nottinghamshire County Council, Arc Partnership and Morgan Sindall Construction on the Bingham Primary School project. The school and its facilities are looking terrific, and we are excited to be opening our doors soon to the Bingham community. The buildings eco-credentials are important to us as, aligning well to our aspiration to teach and encourage our pupils to become global citizens of the future.”

The newly appointed Headteacher, Gayle Ellis, added: “It was wonderful to see the building taking shape. It is going to be a wonderful facility. I am particularly looking forward to seeing it full of children learning and enjoying school.”

Aaron Beattie, Head of Major Projects and Regeneration at Arc Partnership, said: “This project on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council allows us to utilise our wide-range of expertise to design and deliver this school in collaboration with our construction partner, Morgan Sindall, to provide this vital education facility for the growing Bingham community.

“The topping out ceremony marked another exciting milestone as we celebrated the completion of the main structure. It also allowed us time to celebrate the great working relationship the project team have established in building this fantastic new school, and we look forward to continuing to work together to bring this project to completion later this year.”

Once complete in August 2022, Bingham Primary School will join a long list of educational facility projects Morgan Sindall Construction has completed in the Midlands region, including: Castleward Primary School, Ravensdale Primary School, Hackwood Primary Academy and Rosecliffe Spencer Academy.

The main contractor recently revealed it has created over 65,000 student places at over 170 schools in the past five years.

• For more information about this news release please contact Alice Lee at Influential on 07450 562 743 or email [email protected]