Construction works have started on a new primary school in Fradley Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson is leading construction of the school, which will offer 210 primary and 26 nursery places to the local area when complete.
A ground-breaking ceremony was held on site on 24th September to celebrate the start of works.
The £4.8 million scheme is being delivered through the Staffordshire County Council Framework and is being project managed by Entrust – once finished, the school will be run by the John Taylor Multi Academy Trust.
The new, two storey 1FE primary free school will house nine classrooms, a library, catering spaces, indoor sports facilities and an outdoor play area. There will also be a MUGA (multi-use games area) pitch on site to enable a number of sports activities for pupils.
The school, which will be completed in July next year in time for the start of term in September 2022, is also proposed to expand to 2FE in the future – taking its capacity up to 420 primary and 52 nursery places in total – to accommodate for further planned housing schemes in the local area.
This is one of two school projects that G F Tomlinson has recently started works on – with another primary school in Uttoxeter also underway under the Staffordshire County Council Framework.
Chris Flint, managing director at G F Tomlinson, said: “We’re very pleased to be working with framework partner Staffordshire County Council for the construction of this brand-new primary school in Lichfield. We have worked with the Council on a number of construction projects in the past, and are also underway with another school in Uttoxeter.
“It is great to be meeting the demand for more school places in the area. With many new homes coming to the region currently, and more planned for the future, we are delighted to be delivering high-quality, well designed education facilities that are going to serve the local communities here well, with scope for expansion to meet growing needs in the years to come.”
Jonathan Price, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education said: “It has been great to see work start on site. This new school in Fradley will ensure there are enough school places to cope with current and proposed new housing developments. By designing it in such a way that it can be expanded in future years, it means we are planning ahead and ensuring there is enough capacity to meet any further demand. It will be exciting to see how this new school takes shape over the coming months.”
“Mike Donoghue, CEO of John Taylor MAT, said “We become increasingly excited at the prospect of delivering an amazing learning experience to this community in a wonderful new building. Our curriculum, our teaching, and our care will be second to none – and we are appreciative to Staffordshire County Council, Entrust, G F Tomlinson and other community partners for their support. We look forward with great enthusiasm to applications for nursery and reception age children. Already we have seen considerable interest from local families, and we look forward to meeting many of them at our Open Morning on 23rd October.”
