The new £8.2m Broadacre Primary School building reached its half-way point this month.
Partners celebrated with a ‘topping out’ ceremony involving all the staff and pupils from the school, alongside Hull City Council’s portfolio holder and Humber Education Trust’s CEO Rachel Wilkes. A special guest appearance was also made by Hull City player, Lewie Coyle.
Broadacre pupils have been watching their new school progress through viewing windows from their existing school playground since work commenced in January. A selection of students were invited to tour the development site and help raise a flag to the highest point of the building to mark the occasion.
The rest of the school gathered in the playground in their classroom bubbles to enjoy the celebrations. Music was played into the playground which also allowed the Headteacher, Councillor and Lewie Coyle to speak to them from the top through microphones.
Lisa Staines, Executive Head at Broadacre Primary School, said: “The whole school has been so excited to see the new building taking shape over the weeks, and now we get to celebrate reaching such a significant milestone together.
“The children created their own flags to wave in the playground as they danced along to the music and watched the official raising of the Broadacre Primary School flag at the top of the building.
“Sewell Construction and Esteem have engaged with the school throughout the process, and it means so much to us for the teams to become a part of our school community. We’re looking forward to the next few months as we lead up to the opening of our new school next year!”
The new school is being delivered by Hull Esteem Consortium LEP Ltd, the council’s pre-procured framework, which has led the delivery of £400 million of new and improved education facilities across the city, along with culture and leisure regeneration projects, including Hull New Theatre and Ferens Art Gallery.
Esteem General Manager, Gavin Barley, added: “This school is very much needed and it is going to be a fantastic education facility that the pupils, staff, Humber Education Trust and everyone involved can be proud of.
“We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Sewell Construction to deliver this prestigious project on behalf of Hull City Council.
“It has been a great team effort and we have worked hand-in-hand to reach this major milestone.
“It’s really positive for Hull to deliver another education project and we’re delighted to continue to support the local authority in developing the education estate across the city.
“Seeing the staff and pupils so engaged and excited in reaching the half-way point in the development just shows what a huge difference this new school is going to make.”
The brand new £8.2m purpose-built school also includes a dedicated base for young children with autism.
Councillor Shane McMurray, Portfolio Holder for children’s services, said: “I’m delighted that the build has reached this key milestone and is on track for completion in February next year.
“Not only will this new build provide a fantastic environment for local children, but I’m pleased that it will offer purpose-built provision for children with autism.
“We are investing around £50milion in the city’s schools to ensure the city’s children have the best learning environments possible, and this school will provide just that.”
Works to the new build school are due to be completed in September 2022, increasing capacity by 210 pupil places and incorporating a 10-place purpose-built space for children with Autistic Spectrum Condition, a 52-place nursery, enhanced external spaces and teaching areas, and a fenced multi-use games area.
Rachel Wilkes, CEO of the Humber Education Trust, added: “Kingswood has been a growing community over recent years, and it’s so lovely that a school which has been here from the very beginning is now expanding. Their new purpose-built school will have all the resources needed to provide a fantastic education to its pupils.
“Every child in our city deserves the very best provision the city can provide for them, and so it is really fantastic to have the opportunity to work with the local authorities, the housing developers, Sewell Construction and Esteem to build something purpose-built for the children who are the future of our city.
“We’re really excited that there is going to be a specialist ASC base here because as a multi-academy trust, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. It is important for everyone to feel welcomed and included – the new Broadacre Primary School being the enabler of this.”