Newington Community Primary School

Sector: Education

Budget: £1.5 million

School places created: 120

New classrooms: 7

Waste recycled: 99%

Local labour within 40 miles: 81%

I have absolute pride that we are able to offer a learning environment that looks like this; it’s absolutely stunning."

Cliff Stokes

Headteacher | Newington Community Primary School

Delivering more capacity and an outstanding learning environment to an ambitious, friendly community school

Ambition, Achievement, Aspiration are the values at the heart of Newington Community Primary School. And from the moment you step through the gate and see the neat, tidy, well-cared-for grounds with plenty of green space, you get a real sense of the pride that exists throughout the school.

This is a place that aims to be outstanding in everything it does and it’s carefully nurtured an environment that encourages everyone – teachers, pupils, parents, visitors – to do their absolute best all the time. As a result, the school has become increasingly popular over the past few years, which has made it a victim of its own success.

As with any project, delivering a high-quality building on time and to budget is always a challenge. The school had to be built within 12 months and completed by the start of the 2014-15 academic year. There was also the extra complication of building on a live site with hundreds of young children. It was clear there needed to be strong cooperation between all parties.

The project was completed on time and on budget in August 2014 – just in time for the new school year.

There’s now more space and the classrooms are flooded with natural light and warmed by underfloor heating. They also have integrated interactive screens to support learning. Teachers working in the new classrooms are the envy of their colleagues – but they all enjoy a much larger staff room.

“The parents also love it,” says Cliff. “They can now come to the classroom door, see the children’s work and meet the teachers. There’s a real connection there between pupils, teachers and parents, who feel much more a part of their children’s learning.”

120

New school places created

81%

Local labour within 40 miles

99%

Waste recycled