Shirebrook Academy & Stubbin Wood SEN School

About The Project:

This was a design and build project procured through the Derbyshire BSF programme consisting of a new 900 place Academy for 11-16 year olds, including demolition of the existing building, along with a Special Educational Needs School for 5-18 year olds.

Shirebrook Academy

The new building provides two-storeys at the entrance with a three-storey building towards the rear. The accommodation is focused around a central atrium incorporating stepped seating to provide possibilities for different learning techniques and social interaction.

A sports facility has been incorporated within the scheme including a sports hall, activity and dance studio and multi-use games area including a full size 3G flood-lit all weather pitch.

The development required a minimum of 12% of the school’s energy to be provided through renewables. This was achieved by erecting a 47 metre wind turbine in the north-west corner of the site.

Stubbin Wood Primary & Secondary SEN School

This new build Primary and Secondary SEN school provides 3,450m2 of teaching and specialist accommodation for 130 primary and secondary pupils.

The school is designed as single-storey, enabling direct access to external play and resource areas from each class base. A series of high single-storey structures house Stubbin Wood’s hall, drama, music and hydrotherapy suite, wrapped around a central, intensively landscaped, courtyard.

Stubbin Wood School retains its own identity, but shares a number of common facilities with the Academy including the kitchen, sports facilities and some specialist teaching accommodation to help maximise use, reduce capital and running costs and encourage greater integration between pupils at the school and Academy.

The building was constructed using a steel frame with a concrete roof deck to enhance thermal mass. Externally the pallet of materials includes blue/black and red facing bricks, coloured rendered panels and large areas of glass curtain walling to link the inside and outside spaces. Security fencing separates the play areas from the playing fields to maintain an inner secure cordon to meet the requirements of “Secure by Design”. New vehicle access was created to Common Lane at the northern end of the site to form the school’s main vehicular access with a one-way system with separate bus drop-off and car park.

Photos © B+K