Croydon's newest school reaches new heights
Croydon’s newest school, Harris Primary Academy Haling Park in South Croydon, has celebrated reaching the completion of the highest part of the building with a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony.
Croydon is facing the largest proportional rise in school-age young people in the whole of England and the £5million school will help meet this demand by admitting 60 new pupils each year, eventually providing places for 480 children.
The academy will be run by the Harris Federation, a successful education provider with 25 years’ experience and already delivers excellent results in 27 primary and secondary schools in and around London. The council invited the federation to take on the school and the proposal subsequently received endorsement from the Secretary of State.
Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, families and learning, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that one of my first official engagements is seeing this new school reach a milestone in its construction and I’d like to welcome the Harris Federation who I’m sure will deliver excellent results through partnership work between the school and families. One of the biggest priorities for me is to ensure we‘ve sufficient classroom places in good quality schools, meaning our rapidly growing population can be properly educated. I look forward to the completion of this building and the establishment of more good schools in Croydon”
Sir Daniel Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation, said: “The success we’ve achieved in our many schools across the region has been down to the talented and highly dedicated support staff, teachers, leaders and governors who apply their skills and experience to delivering great outcomes for pupils. I know the team we are putting together for Haling Park will work together to ensure every child has the opportunity to meet their full potential.”
Croydon Council’s contractor for this project Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd has used an innovative construction approach, which is estimated to have cut the overall cost of the scheme by 15%, saving the council significant money compared to normal techniques. Further benefits included orders for local suppliers, employment for local people, and, thanks to considerate working practices, minimal disruption for local residents.
The project has focused on the use of sustainable and energy efficiency materials and processes, and the school’s heating, lighting, and ventilation will be equally efficient, allowing it to achieve the best possible environmental ratings.
John Waterman, managing director at Willmott Dixon, said: “This has proved a challenging but exciting project. We’ve carried out some really major pieces of engineering in the middle of a dense residential area but managed to do so without causing any major problems for neighbouring homes. This has included large scale deliveries of huge quantities of concrete and steel and the excavation of a soakaway drainage system the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Despite the limitations it put on our working hours the builder’s dawn chorus of pneumatic drills and reversing claxons has been avoided.”
The new school is part of Croydon Council’s £300million school building and expansion programme, which is thought to be the largest in the country.